Magical Sacrifices
by Angel Queen of Emeralds
Summary: Yuri. Enter the Spiral where magic is scarce. It is every Wizard for him or herself in this Apocalypse. You either hang onto your morals and die, or do whatever it takes to keep living for another day. Follow the story of a woman who lost everything in this disaster as she journeys through this once thriving Spiral where the only thing a Wizard can do is... to sacrifice and live.
1. The Beginning of the End Part 1

**Angel: For those eagerly waiting updates for Witches and Wizards and or other stories that needs updating, I advise you to be patient as we are trying our best to put out the best possible work on the chapters for you to read and enjoy. We don't know when, but the wait will be worth it. **

**For the time being, and yes, I know, I have too many stories out, but the more the merrier and besides I don't plan on quitting the life of fan fiction writing any time soon, here is a story to sink your teeth into while you wait.**

**A few notes here…**

**Note 1: No familiar characters will reappear in this story. Emma, Mika, Apli, Jessica, and all those other main girls will be absent here. New cast!**

**Note 2: There will be a lot of tragedy in this story. I advise you to stay away if you don't like seeing characters you might love, die. **

**Note 3: Like all my stories, there is Yuri. So if you're homophobic, please leave. **

**Enjoy!**

**SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS**

_I somehow recall a world where magic thrived. _

_Wizards roamed happily everywhere… blissfully unaware of a tragedy about to transpire…_

_Magic… the main point in Wizards… and also… the very life source of them…_

_What are Wizards… without magic? _

_Without magic… they are just an empty husk…_

_One does not simply become a Wizard…_

_You either are one… or you're not…_

_And to be one without magic… your life has no meaning as a Wizard…_

_I had witnessed the moment where everything gone to hell in a matter of minutes…_

_Let me take you back… 7 days before the Tragedy happened…_

_This… is my story…_

_~Line Break~_

A middle aged woman with purple hair and wearing a white lab coat entered Headmaster Merle Ambrose's office. She wiped the sweat off her face due to the very high temperatures Wizard City is facing at this point in summer. Closing the door behind her, she headed over to his desk where he was working on some documents. 3 Fans surrounding his desk were turned on at full blast at his face as if to cool him off from the heat wave.

He appeared to not have noticed her come in the room. The woman sighed and took out her clipboard that had a graph on it. Clearing her throat, she spoke in a polite tone. "Headmaster Ambrose… I have come with some troubling news…"

The aforementioned man looked up from his work. He examined her for a moment as if trying to figure out who she was. After a moment or two, his expression softened and he placed his pen down. "Ah, Shelby DreamCatcher… It has been a long time since you last visited me, hasn't it?" He smiled, looking at her and remembering all the achievements this scientist made when she was being taught storm magic.

Shelby smiled lightly, but then her expression turned serious. "Yes. It has. However, I said I had come with some-"

"How is your daughter, Sydney, I hear she is almost a year old!" Ambrose interrupted her, curious about her life. Shelby sighed. She liked and hated the fact that Ambrose was interested in hearing any of his favorite students' life. As much as she would like to have a chat, there is serious news she has for Ambrose and the entire Spiral. It is right in her hands!

"Sydney is fine. Her first word was, 'Mommy'. Now Ambrose, please don't interrupt me…" Shelby started, preparing to show the graph she had on the clipboard in her hands. Ambrose's smile faltered and he grew concerned. He clasped his hands together and gave her his full attention.

"At first… it didn't seem to be a problem… but…" Shelby showed the graph to him. "The whole Spiral is showing a decrease in magic…"

Ambrose's eyes widened. He took the graph from her and stared at it. From 2008-2013, magic in the Spiral has remained constant and high. However from 2014 to the present, 2020, magic has decreased little by little each year.

"Are you quite sure?" Ambrose tried to remain calm, but Shelby knew he was quite worried. "You sure you didn't make a mistake when making this graph?" He handed the graph back to her while awaiting her answer. Unfortunately for him, Shelby had shaken her head in response to his question.

"No. No mistakes were made. This is a legitimate chart." She placed the graph away and pulled out a news article about a Legendary Diviner named, Kat FireWard. "Here is a news article that validates my point further…"

She handed the article to him. Ambrose took it and read the first few sentences of the headlines. "Kat FireWard is a top notch diviner in her class. However, one day, she casted the spell, Leviathan, and then she passed out and fell into a coma. Doctors say that her magic levels have weakened tremendously and the cause of it is unknown. It couldn't be from casting Leviathan as she had casted that spell numerous times without having any after effects."

"Yes, and that happened 3 weeks ago." Shelby stated, grabbing back the article. "It may be a coincidence, but it is something for us to be concerned about. If magic keeps dropping at this rate, there will be problems for us all…"

Ambrose closed his eyes for a moment or two to think about the situation. He bit his bottom lip a bit before making a decision. "I'm afraid, without some more concrete evidence… I can't make a speech about this to Wizard City and the other worlds of the Spiral." He picked up his pen and began doing his work again.

"But Headmaster…" Shelby interjected but Ambrose held up a hand to silence her. She groaned and bit her lip, a bit annoyed.

"I mean no disrespect Shelby, but until there is more solid proof that magic is indeed decreasing little by little, I'll have to take your words with a grain of salt. I can't give false news to the Spiral. Now, please be on your way and take good care of your daughter…" Ambrose shooed her off as he headed back to work.

Shelby put a hand through her purple locks and blew raspberries. That was a complete waste of time. She can't even get Ambrose to believe it. Her fellow Scientists have all laughed at her findings and saying she is getting stupider. She had hoped Ambrose would see her way in this… but apparently… he doesn't.

"I didn't even make a mistake… This is legitimate…" Shelby muttered to herself as she turned around to leave Ambrose's office. Once again, the intense heats of the sun's rays were on her. She fanned herself with the article.

"I don't remember Wizard City ever being this hot before…" She stated, wiping the sweat forming on her face. "I need a nice cold shower when I get home… and a beer…"

~Line Break~

A 5 year old red haired girl walked around the sandy beaches of Wizard City Shore, humming to herself. Apparently the heat has no effect on this girl's mood. She had a shovel and a bucket in her hands. It looks like she is trying to find the perfect spot to make a sandcastle.

"Mommy! I am going to make a sandcastle!" The little girl called out to her mother, who was taking a dip in the ocean.

"Okay, Jamie! Stay where I can see you, ok?"

The little girl nodded in response and looked around for a good spot to make one. There were a lot of people on the beach today, but that isn't a surprise at this point in summer. Everyone is trying to cool off in this nearly 100 degree weather.

"Let see…" Jamie scanned around the area and manages to find one not too far off from her position and it was near a trash bin. "I think Mommy will still see me from there!" She quickly headed off to that general direction. Arriving at the area, she sat herself down and got ready to make a sandcastle.

"Did you hear about Kat?"

Jamie stopped when she heard some boys talking near her. She turned her head around and sees two boys in blue swim shorts talking to one another on the stairs. Now, her mom did tell her that it isn't polite to listen to other people's conversations… but… she would never know, right?

"Yeah, my sister once dated her. But man, to think she would fall into a coma after summoning Leviathan…" The second boy said, scratching the back of his head. The first boy shook his head, knowing that his friend was misinformed.

"No man, she is in a coma because her magic is like… decreased or something…"

Jamie heard of that before. Although she never really understood why having a decrease in magic will put you in a "Sleep" like state. She reached for her shovel and began to slowly dig into the sand, while listening in on the conversation.

"That's some heavy stuff, bro. Magic is like… our blood…"

"Yeah man. I heard from her family that her condition is getting worse and she is on the verge of having no magic inside her at all…"

"What happens when you're out of magic again?"

"I don't know man… maybe you die or something… Man… such a waste… To see a beautiful and talented girl like that dying… Really makes you think…"

So, a person dies when they are completely ridden of magic? That is a horrible thought. She hoped this Kat person will get better though. Shaking that thought off, she has a sandcastle to build! She quickly dug into the sand and shoveled them into her bucket.

"Sandcastle! Sandcastle! Sandcastle!" She hummed as she scooped up sand to fill her bucket. After a few more seconds of shoveling sand… her shovel hit something hard. Confused and curious, she shoveled around the area to figure out what her shovel hit.

"Huh?" The first thing she sees is black hair…

She decided to shovel up some more sand around it and to her horror; she sees a head of a teenage boy with his eyeballs torn out of his head. Next to his head was a note covered in blood… probably his blood. Then all of a sudden, a hand popped out of the sand and latched onto her ankle. Jamie looked at the head, horrified, as she sees his lips moving…

"Please… Kill me…"

"MOMMY!"

~Line Break~

Shelby hopped out of the shower when she heard her baby crying. Normally her husband would take care of it when she is in the shower or doing something, but like most of the time, he takes off as soon as she comes home from work.

"I'm coming baby girl! Mommy will be right there!" She wrapped a towel around herself and exited the bathroom. Shelby walked into her daughter's room and sees Sydney crying in her crib. Sighing, she gently picked her up and cradled her in her arms.

"Ssh, Mommy is here…" Shelby calmed her daughter down. She wondered what made her fussy this time. She already changed her diaper and fed her. She fondly looked at her daughter and asked in a baby voice. "What made you upset my cute little sugar?" She tickled her and the baby girl laughed.

"Ma…" Sydney reached for the moon shaped earring her mother was wearing, but Shelby quickly stopped her from even doing so.

"No sweetie, that will hurt mommy if you play with it…" She turned her attention to the window where she sees a wolf looking at her from the forest. Sydney sees the wolf too and reached out to it as if trying to get closer to it.

"Do…Do…" Sydney was having trouble saying the word, "Dog".

"It's not a Dog technically sweetie, it is a Wolf…" Shelby explained to her daughter. However she wondered what that wolf was doing… Wolves in Wizard City are rare nowadays. Huntsman keep hunting them and killing them as if it was a sport. That disgusts her. At least there are still wolves around. Hopefully, that one won't get killed.

"W-Wulf…" Sydney tried to say the word. Shelby smiled and nuzzled her daughter. She then remembered that she has to get some more research done today. There had to be some way to convince Ambrose of this discovery she made. A discovery she wishes that she never found to be sure, but it had to be done.

"Would you like to see mommy work, sweetie?" The baby squealed her agreement. Shelby smiled and then looked out the window once more. The wolf has disappeared from sight. Well, wolves have things to do like hunt and protect their turf, so it shouldn't be surprising.

"Mommy is going to convince Ambrose that her work is legitimate!" Shelby carried her daughter into her work area so she can watch her. At least until the little tyke gets tired and falls asleep of course. Hopefully she will find some concrete evidence for Ambrose tonight.

_6 Days until the End of the Spiral…_

**Angel: OC submission below… and see ya next time…**

**Name: **

**Age: **

**School:**

**Appearance:**

**Personality:**

**Likes: **

**Dislikes: **

**History before the Apocalypse:**

**History after the Apocalypse:**

**Others:**


	2. The Beginning of the End Part 2

**Angel: OC's appear next chapter. Let us delve further into the plot and get to know more about this, "Shelby", woman, eh? Just to let you know, once the Apocalypse hits, it will do a time skip. How much of a time skip? Not telling. **

**This story WAS going to be "M" rated, but I decided to tone it down for readers that don't like all out gore. I have another story planned for Rated M, but I'll wait until something other than Witches and Wizards to be completely finished first. **

**By the way, I won't kill off anybody's OC unless they want me to when the time is right. This may be a tragedy, but it doesn't mean EVERYONE will die.**

**Enjoy!**

**SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS**

_I didn't think this discovery I found would result in something I didn't expect…_

_At the time, I thought we had at least years before things started to get ugly…_

_How wrong I was to assume such a thing…_

_The next day… I decided to look for the source of this madness…_

_However, I know now that… it was rather pointless…_

_Nothing can stop it… nothing…_

_~Line Break~_

Shelby got up from the bed when she heard the cries of her daughter. She yawned as she stretched her arms and legs. Her husband groaned and placed the blanket over his head, not really in the mood for this thing at this time of day.

"It's like… what 6:00…? We hardly ever get 5 hours of sleep without her crying…" Her husband groaned. Shelby narrowed her eyes at him and then shook her head. She can't believe him sometimes. The purple haired scientist quickly placed on a robe to cover her naked body.

"James, she is a baby with needs. It's our jobs as parents to fulfill them. If not, Social Services would like a word with us…" Shelby rolled her eyes as she quickly headed into the bathroom to wash her face. After doing so, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes tell a story that she has been up most of the night. She only had like… what… one… maybe two hours of sleep? She had her research and somewhat of her husband to blame for that. However, she could have refused to have sex with him, but she wanted it… a little.

Sydney's high pitched crying shook her out of her reverie. She sighed and headed out the bathroom. "I'm coming sweetie." Heading into her daughter's room, she gently picked up Sydney from her crib and gently cradled her in her arms, hushing her with sweet words.

"Mommy's here… Are you hungry little one?" She sees her make a small nod in response to her question. Smiling, she sat herself down on a lounge chair nearby. She opened her robe a bit and let her daughter feed off of her breast. She used to think it felt weird, but now she has gotten used to it.

"Good thing I have the day off today…" Shelby sighed. It is Wednesday, August 19th. She had a lot of things to do today. One of them is finding concrete proof for Ambrose as she did not manage to find anything last night.

She decided to watch some news while Sydney is busy getting her hunger satiated. Shelby did not want to disturb her daughter with loud noise, so she reached for some headphones and placed them on. Turning it on, she reached for the remote and turned on the TV.

As usual, the cartoons pop up. She lets her daughter watch them from time to time, even though she doesn't quite understand them. However, that isn't what she wants to watch right now. She inputted 949 in the remote for the news channel.

"Expect rain to come tomorrow! There might be a chance of thunderstorms!" The weather lady in a skimpy outfit exclaimed to the camera. Shelby almost wanted to smack the person who thought it was a good idea for the weather lady to be wearing such revealing clothing. Sure, she admits the woman is sexy, but in no way does she accept such stupid decisions just to get people, mostly men, to watch the news more.

"Thanks, Chelsea. Now then, we have more news regarding the body found in Wizard City Shore."

There was a body found at the beach? Had there been a murder? Shelby upped the volume a bit. She wanted to hear more about this. News like this had always interested her. Heck, she even solved a murder case herself once.

"Carl LeafBracer is the name of the man that was found in Wizard City Shore by a young girl named Jamie NinjaMaster." They showed an image of a 5 year old red haired girl and a picture of the deceased. "The body was found at 4PM underneath the sands with his eyeballs ripped out of him and a note next to him."

"According to Jamie, Carl told her to kill him. Just before paramedics could even get to him, he died. They say the cause of his death is due to all of his magical powers being gone from his body. Police are unsure how, but this case is definitely similar to that of Kat FireWard, who is now in a coma from lack of magic."

_Oh god… _Shelby placed a hand over her mouth in shock. Another person has fallen due to lack of magic. This is getting more concerning. If this keeps up, seeing people pass out on the street in Wizard City will become the norm! However, it is just two people so far… but still…

"The note, according to Police, says the following…"

_**THE VIRUS WILL SPREAD!**_

_**SAVE YOURSELVES!**_

_A Virus? So, perhaps this whole thing is happening because of a Virus? You would think doctors would find such a Virus when examining both Kat and Carl. Also, I didn't detect any virus when doing my scientific researching… _Shelby wasn't quite sure if that was the case, but it will be something she'll look into today. Also, is the virus a natural cause… or did someone create it? Either one sounded horrible no matter how hard you look at it, the fact of the matter is that there is a Virus… well if there is one.

She feels Sydney let go of her breast with a pop, probably full. Shelby placed her on her shoulder and lightly patted her on the back to get her to burp. After 10 of them, a satisfied burp came from her, and then she gently cradled Sydney in her arms.

"Police are still investigating the area to find any more clues. We will notify you more once we have more information…"

Hearing enough, she shut off the TV. She was going to head to the Lab after she makes Breakfast. Shelby looked down at her daughter who was staring back at her with questioning eyes.

"Ma?"

"Mommy is going to do a lot of work today, sweetie pie." Shelby told her daughter. She wondered how she is going to explain this to her husband. How would he react to it? She then scoffed and shook her head. Well, if she knew her husband, he'd probably just laugh and think she is full of herself. What a supportive husband… but she still loves him anyways.

"It's going to be a long day, isn't it?" She asked to no one in particular.

"Ba?" Her daughter said, confused. Shelby smiled and just hugged her.

_~Line Break~_

"Hey, what's that in your ear?" An 18 year old black haired girl with chestnut eyes asked to her friend walking with her. Her friend in question was a 17 year old brunette with blue eyes. Both of them were in a White T-Shirt and a black skirt.

"What, a quarter?" The friend asked, knowing where this was going. The girl laughed and shook her head.

"No, silly." She reached for her ear and pulled out a pigeon. "You had that in your ear!" She laughed at her friend's face as she let the pigeon fly off into the sky. The brunette groaned and smacked herself in the face.

"You and your so called, "Magic"."

"I am a Magician, what can I say?" The black haired woman shrugged her shoulders with a smile. The brunette sighed, but smiled as well. As annoying her friend is at times, she cherishes her company. Both of them placed their hands behind their heads and continued to walk forward.

"Do you ever wonder if Magic really exists, Kelsey?" The brunette asked. The aforementioned girl looked at her as if her question was stupid.

"Magic does exist! It is all around us! In the air! In the soil! It is everywhere, Victoria!" Kelsey stated, throwing her hands up for emphasis. Victoria patted her friend on her shoulder as if pitying her.

"Sure it does…"

"Then how did I get that pigeon out of your ear?"

"You are just using tricks, nothing magical about it." Victoria sighed. Kelsey blew raspberries at her. She would never understand. Sure Earth seems to be a non-magical place… but there are some things that can't be explained.

"Anyways, my birthday is in 6 days. Are you getting me something good?" Kelsey asked with a smile. Victoria rolled her eyes and gently smacked her friend upside the head. The black haired woman pouted, rubbing the area where she smacked it.

"Of course, idiot. God, you're such a dork."

"Stingy…"

The pair soon reached the St. Mary's High School where they were attending classes. This was their last year of school before they can finally graduate and move away from their annoying parents. Both of them didn't really like this school all that much, but at least they need to survive one more year.

"Hopefully we get some nice teachers this time… not those monotone teachers last year… Ugh." Kelsey deadpanned. Victoria could only nod in agreement. Those types of teachers were horrible. Every word the spoke made her want to shut that mouth for good.

"The end is near… the end is near I tells ya!"

Both of them turned to their right to see a bald black man with a sign on him. The sign says, "The World will end soon!" The girls sighed. They've seen this guy way too many times around these parts. He is always going on about how the world will end soon. Yet, every time he predicts something, it doesn't really happen. Not like they believe him anyways.

"Yo, old hag, still think the world is ending eh?" Victoria decided to mess with him a little. Kelsey gave her a look as if to say that is rude of her. Sure he is annoying, but he doesn't deserve to be called that.

"It is I tells ya! I know I am right this time!" The black man laughed hysterically. "You'll all see! We'll all be sacrificed! It is what God has in stores for us!" He then looked around and spoke in a loud whisper. "Between you two and me… There is 6 days left! 6 days left to live your pathetic teenage lives!"

"Pathetic? I'll show you pathetic you inaccurate hag." Victoria was about to kick his butt, but Kelsey prevented her from doing so. The man laughed and walked away to do his usual business of telling everybody that the world is ending.

"No violence on school grounds, Vic, sheesh… Do you want to get suspended?"

"Pfft, whatever. I just don't get that guy. What makes him think the world is ending?" Victoria asked as they both entered the school. Kelsey thought about it for a moment, trying to think of a rational answer. However, she can't simply come up with one that doesn't end with him being crazy.

"I don't know. All of us have to die have to some point though… Like the thing that wiped out the Dinosaurs…"

"Well duh, idiot, I know all of us will die no matter what. What kind of Apocalypse is going to "Supposedly" come I wonder…?" That man never did say how the world will end… he just thinks it WILL end soon.

"Something about us being sacrificed…" Kelsey stated. "Well at least it ain't no Zombie thingy. God knows that's cliché… and overdone…"

"I hear that…"

As they walked down the hallway to their classes, Kelsey felt the atmosphere… change a bit. She stopped in her tracks and looked around. Nothing was out of the ordinary… everything seemed the same.

Victoria, noticing her friend's behavior, stopped and looked at her. "Hey, what's wrong?" Kelsey didn't respond. Instead, she reached out with her hand as if to grab something that wasn't really there and trying to feel it. Okay, now she was really concerned.

"The fuck you doing?"

"… I don't know… Is it me or… is there a slight change in the atmosphere all of a sudden?" Kelsey asked her. She didn't know what it was…

"They probably turned on the air conditioner you goof… Whatever, we're going to be late for class… Hurry up…" Victoria walked on forward and Kelsey reluctantly followed. It definitely wasn't a change of temperature… it was something more… complex…

~Line Break~

Shelby typed away on the computer furiously. She has spent a total of 7 hours searching for the cause of this decrease of magic throughout the Spiral. There has to be a cause for this… Magic wouldn't just suddenly say, "Sorry, goodbye!" and then go away bit by bit. So far, all of her searches have turned up negative.

"Maybe if I can collect some skin samples from those unfortunate souls that had their magic drained… No… that's stupid…" She muttered to herself. If talented Doctor's couldn't find anything… what makes her any different? Sure, she is a scientist, but even she has her limits.

She pulled out the graph she made yesterday and stared at it. Magic levels were decreasing slowly but surely. Roughly 1.6 percent decrease every year. It isn't much, but it enough for her to have been concerned enough to talk about with Ambrose, who still refuses to discuss it if she has no evidence to back it up. But it is not like she made this graph to make people afraid.

"Hmm, perhaps there is a Virus that transformed into this… It could be a long shot, but it is worth a try." Shelby rolled her chair she is sitting on to the other side of the room where the bookshelf is. She skimmed through until she finds a book on known Viruses across the Spiral. She pulls it out and flips through it.

"Okay… Viruses… Viruses…" Shelby looked through multiple pages, HOPING to find something that involves magic. She sees Zombie Viruses, Toxic Viruses… Plant Viruses… After 5 minutes of looking in this big book, there was nothing about draining magic from people or things…

"Maybe… a spell? But I don't think there is even a spell that could do this!" Shelby bit her lip, debating on whether or not to look it up. Figuring it wouldn't hurt to look; she put back the Virus Book and then pulled out the Book of Spells…

She flipped through it like she did with the other, looking for anything relevant. It is a huge book, likely going to take her 10 or so minutes to skim pages to find a spell about it. She was about to give up when something caught her eye. She gripped the book tighter and stared at the page detailing of a small but very deadly spell that a user can cast. The spell didn't seem relevant… but something in her mind told her to look at it.

_Epitomus Sacrifice Zilbalba_

_A spell that can extract magic from nonliving things or dead people. It can also work on that of the dying. You can use this spell with a cost of little of your magic to sacrifice a dying or dead person and inanimate objects that contain magic and transfer them into your body. Beware though, the more you use it, the more it takes its toll on you. _

_All you have to do is reach out with your hand and say those 3 words. It will literally drain the victim dry and you will get the magic from it. _

"Such a spell exists? I would never use such a thing. While it is certainly interesting, I don't know why I bothered to read it at all…" Shelby decided she had enough for today and slammed the book shut. She placed it back on the shelf and got up from her chair. She yawned and stretched her arms, feeling very tired from all the work she had done today.

"All that work and nothing to prove my discovery… Maybe I'll have better luck tomorrow…"

Shelby packed up her things and left the Lab.

_I didn't know how important that spell was back then…_

_Never have I thought that it will become a thing…_

_I wish I never saw that spell…_

_5 days until the End of the Spiral…_


	3. The Beginning of the End Part 3

**Angel: OC's will appear. Well half of them anyways. I can't fit that many in one chapter. Sorry. It feels like I am padding if I do too much. I tried to introduce all of them in here… but then I couldn't. **

**They will all get equal screen time though, don't worry. I plan to introduce half here and then introduce the other half in the next chapter. After Chapter 4, I will do what I don't normally do and make 10,000 word chapters or higher. This is a story I feel like I want to immerse myself in and be patient enough to write long chapters to make sure everything is ok. This is an experiment on myself to see how well I do to make a more longer and interesting story. **

**Those who gave me double, I only accepted the first you gave me; the other will just be a character I will show when necessary. Sorry. We're getting closer to the Apocalypse! Enjoy!**

**OC's that appear: Reed, Claire, Liam, Reyna (Minor), and Anneke.**

**OC's that appear next chapter: Sophia, Garret (Minor), Brianna, and Alex.**

_Apocalypse…_

_That is something I never thought will happen in my lifetime. _

_The next day, I met some people…_

_People I never thought I would ever meet again…_

_I also met this one man that was different from the bunch…_

_~Line Break~_

Shelby slowly walked out of her bedroom in her robe. She sleepily rubbed at her eyes as she made her way to the bathroom to get ready for the day. Once again, she hardly got much sleep. This time, she fully blames her husband for that. That man was just insatiable!

"Man I am sore…" Shelby muttered to herself as she disrobed and turned on the shower. She eyed the toothbrush on the counter. Shrugging, she decided to put some toothpaste on it and then hopped into the shower with it, deciding to brush her teeth AND take a shower.

"Saves time… La la… la la… la la…"

She then hears Sydney cry. Shelby groaned, not wanting to deal with her daughter right now. "James! You do it! I am taking a shower!" She yelled out to him. She hears him groan in response.

"For the love of pound cake!" James headed out of the bedroom in annoyance and into Sydney's room. Smiling, she continued to brush her teeth and also take a shower. It didn't take long for the crying to stop. Perhaps she needed a diaper change?

"Woah! That's a wet one! I think you broke a record, Sydney!"

"Figures…" Shelby was glad she didn't have to deal with that. As she was doing two tasks at once, she thought about that spell she somehow wanted to look at. What was it called? Epitomus… Sacrifice Zilbalba? For whatever reason, it seems important. However, it is a dark spell that should not be used ever… and it is also not relevant to what she is trying to find out.

"Why would anyone want to use that spell? Maybe evil people… I know I wouldn't use it…"

She shook that thought off. There were far better things to think on… Like where to go next to continue her research so she can finally get Ambrose to make a speech about it to the entire Spiral! They must do something to keep the magic in the Spiral stable.

She shudders to think what happens if they are too late to act. Nothing like this has ever happened before, so she doesn't know what to expect. Wizards need Magic in order to survive. They were born that way.

After finishing both tasks, she jumped out of the shower and placed the toothbrush away. She grabbed the towel and proceeded to dry herself. Before she opened the door to go get changed, James walked into the bathroom with Sydney in his arms.

"She is sucking on her thumb again… you know what that means…" James said in a teasing tone. Shelby rolled her eyes then smiled. She took Sydney gently into her arms. Immediately after doing so, the baby girl latched onto one of her breasts.

"Frisky today aren't you little one?" Shelby giggles as her daughter fed off of her. James gently ruffled the little patch of hair on his daughter's head.

"Heh, she must be like me…" James then whispered the rest of the sentence in his wife's ear. Shelby blushed a deep shape of red from that. She lightly smacked him in the arm for that comment.

"Oh, James, be quiet… Don't embarrass me in front of our daughter like this…"

James laughed in response. He then looked at his daughter fondly. "5 days… 5 days until she is just a year old! It seems like yesterday we just had her…" Shelby nodded in response. Time sure does fly. James then looked at Shelby, remembering something. His wife stared at him back, wondering what he was thinking.

"Shelby, mind telling me about that graph in your research room?" James asked her, folding his arms. The purple haired woman was a bit shocked that he found it. She even hid it in a good place. Guess James has his ways. Not that she blames him; a spouse would get curious about what the other is doing.

She cleared her throat, before deciding to answer him. "That, is a graph of the magical levels of the Spiral. It is uh… decreasing 1.6 percent each year." Shelby wondered if James would even believe her, but when she looked into his eyes, she knew that James did not doubt her.

James scratched the back of his head, sighing. "That would explain the news recently… How long were you intending to keep this from me?" Shelby looked down at her daughter who was still feeding off of her before looking back at him. She knew she should have told him when she first discovered this.

"I am sorry, honey. I just… didn't think you would believe me… because my fellow scientists and Ambrose sure didn't." Shelby explained, feeling guilty from keeping it from him. James smiled and placed a hand on his wife's shoulder.

"Then they are idiots. You are the one of the greatest scientists in Wizard City! No, in fact, you ARE the greatest scientist!" James threw his hands up as if adding emphasis to his statement. Shelby blushed and gently smacked his arm.

"Stop it, I am not."

Her husband smiled, but then thought about the magic decreasing. "So, Magic is decreasing by 1.6 percent every year? Jesus. That is a scary thought. Without magic we might as well all be dead…" He placed a hand under his chin in thought. He wondered how the hell can they convince Ambrose that this whole thing is happening? It is obvious that they needed to do something quick before things go horrible.

"I know. I just don't know what to do… How can I give proof that this is happening? Ambrose won't believe the graphs I made and my fellow Scientists are of no help either…" Just as she finished that sentence, Sydney had stopped feeding and let go of her breast. She placed Sydney over her shoulder and began to pat her back softly. "I spent all day yesterday trying to find proof to show him… but I came up with nothing. Supposedly it is a Virus… but I can't seem to find anything of the sort…"

"Well, let me help. I do have the day off today." Sydney let out a burp. James took his daughter into his arms. Shelby looked at him with a smile. He is actually going to help her out? Oh how she loved this man!

"Thank you, honey. That means a lot to me…" She gave him a brief kiss on the lips. She then thought for a minute. Was there something James can do to help her out today? James watched her think for a minute as he held his daughter.

"You can start helping me by checking out some books from the library about things that drain magic… maybe something evolved…" She told him. James nodded. That was a simple task for him to do. Perhaps he'll read the books himself so Shelby doesn't have to.

"Anything else?"

"Not at the moment." Shelby grabbed the fresh pile of clothes she would be wearing today. A red shirt, a black lacy bra, black panties, a purple skirt, and knee-high socks. She placed them on quickly and then looked at herself in the mirror.

"Just do that for me. Just make sure you take Sydney with you and look after her."

"What are you going to do?"

"Going to a few places and ask some questions. If this whole thing is because of a Virus… I need to see if anybody feels different recently…" And that was what she was going to do! She'll get the proof she'll need to convince Ambrose and get something done about it!

~Line Break~

Kelsey clicked her tongue as she stared at the Math quiz in front of her. She gently tapped her desk with her pencil, thinking hard on question 2. 'What is the Derivative of sin ((u/x)^n+x^k) with respect to x?" Oh how she hated Math with such complicated problems such as these. She would much rather be doing magician tricks than doing this!

First week of school and she gets bombarded with a quiz. She blew raspberries and got up from her seat. She might as well fail this quiz. It just one quiz, she'll do better on the others. She took her quiz and walked over to the Teacher's desk. Handing it over to her teacher, she told him she was going to the bathroom.

"My, you didn't seem to try at all on this quiz. You should have at least attempted some of the questions." The teacher mused as he looked at the first question she answered. It was correct, so he went ahead and gave an F grade. She got one out of 12.

"Whatever. Going to head to the bathroom now."

Kelsey headed out of the classroom and then shut the door softly behind her as there are still students finishing the quiz. She sighed and trailed her hand through her raven locks. She really wasn't in the mood for math. Heck, not really in the mood for school either.

It was eerily quiet in the hallway. Normally there would be hall monitors out and about, but there don't seem to be any at this time. She turned right and headed towards the girl's bathroom. She was about to head in when she heard heavy breathing coming from inside. Kelsey arched an eyebrow and then placed an ear to the door, trying to listen in.

"Oh my god… oh my god…"

That voice… that was Victoria! Alarmed, she headed into the bathroom. To her surprise, she sees Victoria looking at herself in the mirror, dabbing her neck with a wet paper towel. Her eyes wandered over to where the stalls are and to her shock and horror, she sees a girl on the ground, blood pouring from her.

"Vic… what the hell happened..?" Kelsey placed a hand over her mouth. Victoria turned to her, scared out of her mind. The brunette threw away the wet paper towel and quickly locked the bathroom. She then grabbed Kelsey by the shoulders.

"I didn't mean to! She… she bit me with those… fangs of hers…" Kelsey eyed the fang marks on Victoria's neck. A vampire bite… Her neck was still bleeding. But… if she was bitten… How did she not turn? Also, wasn't she supposed to be woozy? Vampires are supposed to suck your blood.

Kelsey took very deep breaths and tried to be calm about the situation. Her best friend has just killed… a vampire… so it seems and she was bitten. "So… that girl was a Vampire… but how are you not one and more importantly… are you woozy at all?"

Victoria paused for a second. "Um, now that you mention it… I don't really feel woozy, I mean she was sucking me for like maybe 3 seconds before I…" She shuddered, not believing that she did that. She wanted to cry, but not in front of her best friend. She was supposed to be the strong one.

"I do feel… drained of something though. It is definitely not blood. Granted she did drink some from me as expected from sucking on my neck, but that doesn't seem to be what she was draining me of…" Victoria looked over at the stall. She felt so guilty… "I didn't want to kill her, I just wanted her off of me. She like crawled underneath the stall and proceeded to attack me… What should I do? Am I going to jail?"

Kelsey bit her lip. Her friend was in quite a predicament. She's not sure the authorities would believe that she killed a vampire on self-defense. She opened the stall door and got a closer look of the dead vampire. It looks like Victoria shoved her so hard against the wall, she cracked her skull and died. Hmm, shouldn't a Vampire die by being stabbed through the heart or something?

Also, she knew this girl. She met her 3 days ago while shopping. She didn't have any fangs or looked any different. So…

"I-I don't know… I am at a loss of words…." Kelsey sighed, feeling so bad for her friend who was trembling in fear. "We'll see where this goes… Hopefully you won't get set off to jail and get expelled from school…"

~Line Break~

Shelby decided to start in the Wizard City Shopping District. There weren't that many wizards around at this time of day, although no one really shops here anyways. They do their business in Bazaar 99 percent of the time. She is rather surprised this place hasn't shut down from bankruptcy yet.

"Hmm, who should I ask? I need to collect a good amount of data and if all possible, which I doubt, I can maybe get a DNA sample from them so I can do some experiments. Sure, the doctors found nothing, but I am WILLING to try and figure out what this "Virus" is.

One thing that doesn't sit right with her though… How did that man who died… got his eyes ripped out of his head? Did somebody do that to him? Or was it a result of losing magic? Either one sounded horrible to begin with.

So absorbed in her thoughts, she accidentally bumped into a rather large and muscular man. She fell to the ground, clutching her head in pain. The man she bumped into scowled at her and shook his head. She feels his dusk color eyes stare into her very soul. She felt really intimidated by this tall black haired man in what seemed to be a brown top with a vest made from animal skin, black pants, and hunting shoes.

"Grr… Wizard scum… Watch where you're going, idiot…" He growled at her. Shelby picked herself up the ground.

"I'm sorry! I was just thinking!" Shelby apologized frantically. Getting a better look at the man, she recognized him after seeing his burns and scars on his arm. That's right, she saw this man in Grizzleheim working as a blacksmith. His name was Reed.

"Oh, Reed…"

"Don't ever say my name, Wizard." He spat. "Now get the hell out of my way. I have some business to take care of." He shoved her off to the side and proceeded to head into the Wizard City Commons. However, she decided to stop him, wanting to ask him some questions.

"Wait… I would like to ask you a few questions regarding the slow disappearance of magic…" She gently touched his shoulder to get his attention, but that was a terrible mistake on her part.

Shelby gasped as she was punched square in her right eye and she fell to the ground in pain. She gritted her teeth, feeling angry that a man would even dare punch her. Reed glared at her with those intense eyes of his.

"Leave me alone, Wizard scum. Go die somewhere. I know nothing about the disappearance of magic and I frankly I don't care. Let it disappear, no one really needs it…" With that he stormed off, leaving a hurt Shelby on the ground, tending her right eye.

"Son of a bitch…" She muttered. She grabbed a little mirror from her bag and looked at herself. She had a black eye thanks to his very powerful punch. The nerve of some people… she just wanted to ask a question… jeez.

And what did he mean by he didn't care magic disappeared? Without it, how the hell would the Spiral be around? Sometimes, she just didn't understand people like that. He must truly hate wizards if that "Wizard Scum," meant anything.

She hoped she never sees that man again. If she does… well perhaps she will pay him back for that black eye he gave her. Paybacks would be delightful.

"Don't worry about him, he just has bad experiences with magic and Wizards…"

She turned around and sees a young woman looking at her from the robe shop. She has pale skin, blue eyes, black hair with pink strains tied into pigtails, and a scar on her knee. The young woman walked over to her and helped pick her up from the ground.

"Thanks…"

"You're welcome. My name is Claire WillowWave. I already know your name as you are one of the greatest scientists Wizard City has to offer after all…" The young woman introduced with a smile. Shelby smiled back.

"Pardon me for asking… but do you know Reed?" Shelby asked.

"Not really. I just overheard some of his conversations. Reed isn't a bad man… he just hates magic because of what it was capable of and did to his parents. That's all I know…" Claire explained. Shelby felt a little better knowing that, but still… that punch was uncalled for. Claire pulled out a bag of ice from her bag and handed it to her. Shelby muttered her thanks before placing it on her black eye, wincing a little.

"So, what's this I hear about the slow disappearance of magic?" Claire asked her. Shelby reached into her bag and pulled out a graph she had been carrying around.

"Magic is slowly dwindling away… I just found out that it may be a Virus causing this. However, I am unsure whether it is a natural cause or somebody created it. Right now I am asking people around if they feel any different… Like say, you use too much magic and do you feel very exhausted?"

Claire was unusually calm about this news. She believed her as she is a great scientist. "So you're taking a survey? What good would that do? To be frank, I feel like you're wasting your time doing that. You should do more meaningful things…"

Shelby scratched her leg, biting her lip. "Well, I need the data to convince Ambrose that this thing is happening. If we don't do something… bad things will happen. I don't know what, but I prefer not to find out…" She placed the graph back into her bag. "I found this out 2 days ago. Ambrose didn't believe me… so I am trying my hardest to get evidence…"

"So getting inputs from people will help, huh?" Claire didn't know how much help that would do, but since this news seems to be true, she might as well give her an answer. "Well. I've been healing suffering people a lot recently and normally I don't feel tired… but recently it happened more often than not."

"Healing? Aren't you a storm wizard?" Wizards can sense other Wizards' school of magic if they are the same. Otherwise, they can't tell unless they are dressing their school colors. They can however tell if there is magic within people.

"Yes, but I am also in Life magic… I just… don't like to see people suffer…" Claire looked down on the ground a bit, biting her lip. "But anyways, I can heal 5 people without getting tired. 20 used to be my limit… but now it is 5."

"Gee…" Shelby bit her lip. She took out a clipboard with a piece of paper on it. "Could you sign this?" Claire smiled and took the clipboard from her and began to sign her name. Once finished, she handed it back to her.

"There you go. I wish you good luck on convincing Ambrose!" Claire waved her goodbye and Shelby yelled out her thanks. Now the purple haired scientist was getting somewhere! Hmm, maybe she should of asked to get a DNA sample from her… nah… she would probably be weirded out.

~Line Break~

James placed the books he checked out on the table. Sydney was on the carrier on his back. He clutched the black eye he got from that rather tall man he encountered over by the checkout desk. He was just making a joke! No need to be a bully! Punching him in front of his daughter no less!

Regardless, he placed Sydney on his lap and pulled out a book. "Daddy is finding this so called virus." He told his daughter who merely just looked at him, confused. He ignored the stinging of pain from his right eye and began to scan through the book called, "Things that drain…"

As the title suggests, it lists things that drain whatever and tells a brief description of it. Sydney looked at the book he was reading and started to play with it. James gently stopped her. "No sweetie. Daddy needs to read. You play with it, Daddy needs to pay for it. Daddy doesn't have that kind of money right now…"

Sydney, somehow understanding, relented and just watched quietly while sucking her thumb. James smiled and continued to look through the book. It lists quite a lot of things that drain things. However, nothing about draining magic as of yet.

"Sis, I am telling you I need to do some work…"

"Aw, come on bro. Let's go eat some sweets first and then I'll let you do your work in peace…"

James looked up from his book to see twin siblings walk into the study room. Shrugging, he went back to reading through the book. It is best not to be distracted by figuring out what other people are doing. It is also impolite to eavesdrop.

"Haha, tell you what. You let me do my work now and I'll do whatever you want afterwards, how's that?"

"Okay! Thanks bro!"

Sydney looked at the newcomers and giggled happily, reaching out to them with her arms. The sister of the siblings sees this and smiles. She made her way over to the baby, looking at her. James, feeling that it was inevitable he was going to be interrupted, placed down his book.

"Aww, aren't you cute…" The girl gushed.

"Bwah…" Sydney spoke, excited. James smiled. She was always friendly to strangers for whatever reason. Seeing new people makes her excited. Whether or not that was a good thing or a bad thing… he didn't know.

The girl's twin brother walked over to see the cute baby girl himself. "You have a cute daughter, mister." He messed with the small tuft of purple hair on Sydney's head. The baby girl giggled, enjoying the attention.

"Thanks. She is turning a year old in a few days…" James told them. He smiled at Sydney and gently tickled her, making her go into a fit of laughs. "Sorry for this little one from distracting you from your work… Mr…" He trailed off.

"Liam FrostRider…" The short brunette haired brother introduced. "And this is my sister, Reyna." James nodded and introduced himself and his daughter as well. The twins recognized their names after the introduction was done.

"Oh. You are the husband of that great scientist, Shelby, aren't you?" Liam stated more than asked. James could only nod in response, not sure what else to say than that. He was grateful that his wife was that well known.

"You are one lucky man, James. I bet she could find a cure for cancer if she really tried." Reyna smiled. James could only laugh at that. He doubted that she was THAT good to find a cure for cancer. If she does, he'll eat his own hat.

Liam examined the book James was reading. "So what are you doing with that book? Is there something you need to research on?" He asked. James contemplated on whether or not to answer truthfully to his question. He didn't want to worry them about magic disappearing slowly. He would leave that up to his wife. However, the more people that know, the more they can get Ambrose to make a speech about it to the Spiral and then get something done about it.

_Probably not a good idea at the moment. _James thought. So he decided to lie. "Oh yes, I am doing some research on the draining of blood. It is a medical project of mine." Liam didn't seem too convinced, but he dropped it.

"Well good luck on that, James! It was nice seeing you and your daughter!" The twin siblings waved goodbye as they made their way deeper into the study room. James smiled. It was nice to have friendly faces around here. It was a good change of pace… he wished that man he encountered got the memo…

Hmm, they didn't seem to ask about his black eye, but he was thankful they didn't. He would rather still have his dignity than tell them about his black eye he got. Moving on, he picked up the book and began to read further.

~Line Break~

Shelby sat outside the Sandwich Restaurant in Downtown of Wizard City. She was eating a Cheesesteak because she was really hungry after surveying at least 100 people. Only 25 of them actually had some experiences of being tired when using magic only a few times. Would 25 people really be enough to convince him?

Also, this begs to question… Was she infected with this Virus? It has been a LONG time since she used magic. Well maybe she was exaggerating… It has only been a year. She didn't need to use magic or practice magic. She was a scientist. She wasn't like those Questers that go and fight monsters for a living. So, it is not like she knows if she is or not. Perhaps she will test it out… maybe?

Shaking her head, she needed to stop thinking about it for right now. She eyed the daily newspaper on the rack next to her table. Shrugging, she picked it up and began to read the headlines for today.

_5 Mentally Ill Wizards attack other Wizards at the Wizard City Hospital!_

_**Late last night, 5 Wizards that had been taken in because of their mental illness, had attacked other Wizards that were visiting the Hospital. Doctors say that they keep murmuring about "Being Drained". After security stopped them from beating the other Wizards to death, they kept on saying, "I want you drained…" As of now, nobody knows what they mean, but it could be just the talking of the mentally ill. **_

"Those poor Wizards…" Shelby folded the newspaper and hung it back on the rack. That kept her mind off things for a bit. She hoped those that were mentally ill got 'better' soon. No one should go through that.

Suddenly a young woman with strawberry blonde hair and light blue eyes walked up to her table. "Miss, mind if I sit with you? The other tables have already been taken." She asked with that deep country accent of hers. Shelby merely shrugged in response, not really caring to be honest. She wasn't cold; she just didn't care right now.

"Thanks…" The woman took the seat across from her and sat down with a sandwich of her own. Shelby just waved her off, saying to think nothing of it. As the woman across from her ate her sandwich, Shelby reached into her bag and pulled out a notebook. She was going write some notes down to herself so she can be prepared for later.

"You work and eat, miss? That's hardcore…" The woman across from her smiled at her with a hint of craziness. Shelby rolled her eyes.

"What's wrong with work and eating? It is not like it is unusual to do both…" Shelby was already annoyed by this woman. Something about her rubs her the wrong way.

"I am just messing with you miss, lighten up." The woman grins in her crazy way before taking a bite out of her sandwich. Shelby shrugged, not really in the mood with being teased at the moment. She just got a black eye… not to mention the constant weird looks she gets when asking people about their fatigue in magic if they have any.

"What ya working on?"

"What does it matter to you?"

"Ooh feisty, watch out, we got a badass over here!" The woman held her hands up, teasing the other woman. Shelby let out an annoyed grunt and shook her head. If she had less patience she would have just got up and left, but she didn't.

"But seriously, watcha up to darling?"

"If you MUST know… I am conducting a survey around…" Shelby said slowly to her. The woman remained undeterred and stared at her with that annoying grin on her face. Oh how she wants to rip that off of her face.

"On what? Like do you have enormous tits like me?" She imitated her voice almost perfectly and grinned at her. Shelby stared down at her chest and then blushed.

"S-Shut up! My boobs aren't that big!" It was true. She was only a D, perhaps bigger. F cup is enormous in her opinion.

"Haha, you are fun to tease. Your face was priceless!" The woman placed her hands together, grinning widely.

"And to answer your question before it went somewhere else… I am asking people around if they feel tired recently after only using magic for a little bit." Shelby explained. She jotted down a few more notes she thought was necessary and placed it back into her bag.

"Hmm, what is this survey for..?"

"…" She really didn't want to tell her of all people, but perhaps it will wipe that grin off her face. She was sick of it. "Magic is disappearing… 1.6 percent every year in fact." She gave her a truthful answer. The woman looked into her eyes. Noticing it was in fact the truth, she merely shrugged and ate a bite of her sandwich.

"Alright, cool…"

Huh? How is she not…? The woman, as if reading her mind, answered her. "I am not afraid of anything, darling. Fear is not an emotion I have." She got up from her seat and picked up her sandwich. "Thanks for the chat… booby lady." She laughed when sees the angered look on Shelby's face.

"For the last time, my boobs aren't that big…" She growled, not even bothering to watch that woman leave. Shaking her head, she finished the rest of her sandwich, hoping nobody else will disturb her.

Unfortunately, someone else did come over to her table. It was a mysterious man in a brown trench coat and black boots. He wore dark glasses and a brown hat. It is as if he had something to hide. Shelby stared at him, wondering what he could possibly want.

"Your future is looking dark…" The man spoke to her in a gruff voice.

"W-What…?"

The man placed his hands on her table and stared directly into her eyes. "What you are doing… will do you no good… I advise you watch out and trust no one… except me…" He took her hands and placed something in them. "I'll protect you from them…" Shelby yanked her hands away from him, rather appalled at what this man just did.

"Time is running out…" He muttered to her before heading off into the distance and getting lost in the crowd of Wizards roaming about. Shelby looked at what he gave her. It was a note of some kind. Curious, she opened it.

_You'd be wise to prepare for tragedy and you should trust in me when the Full Moon shines over the new wasteland…_

Shelby did not want to trust that stranger. He is probably just some crazy man that thinks he is cool or something or wants a quick fuck from her. Hah. Yeah right. Like she, a married woman, would go and do that with a random man who spoke nonsense.

She crumpled up the piece of paper and tossed it into the trash. She picked up her things and went to do some more work. Little did she know… just how important and true that note really was…

_Meeting that man…_

_I didn't know how important he was…_

_I thought he was crazy… _

_Things were getting worse… _

_And it is only going to get much worse…_

_4 days until the End of the Spiral…_


	4. The Beginning of the End Part 4

**Angel: Nothing to say except this is the last chapter I will put with anything less than 10,000 words, read my friends!**

**OC's that appear: Sophia, Garret (Minor), Brianna, and Alex**

**OC's that appear next chapter: None**

_Last night… I wondered if I was infected with the Virus…_

_I haven't used Magic over a year…_

_I am not sure I even know my previous limit…_

_The next day, I head over to Ambrose to see if I can convince him now…_

_However, I have my first face to face encounter with a monster…_

_It is a monster that I will see… a lot…_

_~Line Break~_

Shelby yawned as she got out of bed. Usually, Sydney would be crying at this time of day, but she did not hear a cry or anything from her throughout the night. Well that's a good thing and a bad thing. Bad thing because it is not usual, good thing because it means she doesn't have to deal with her daughter at this time of day.

She placed on a robe and went over to her desk. She picked up a clipboard that had the survey she did. Over 100 people signed it. A lot more than she thought she might get and a lot more she thought were getting exhausted after using magic for even a little bit. "If this doesn't convince Ambrose… I don't know what will…" Shelby muttered to herself before putting down the clipboard.

Her husband did not get much luck researching through the books yesterday. He did not find anything remotely related to the draining of magic. This virus or whatever it is… seems to be untraceable. However, when something is made… there is always a cause. She just doesn't know what may have caused it… What happened during 2014?

Shelby sat herself down on the chair and began to think. Was there anything new released? Did somebody accidentally trigger something? During that year, she was a soldier in the Dragonspyre War where she first met her husband. So she wouldn't know anything if she was constantly fighting.

That is something she'll have to look up later. Right now, it is time to start a new day! She got up and opened up the blinds, letting the light enter the room. Her husband groaned when the light hit him as he places the blanket over his head. "Did you have to open the blinds..?" He muttered, annoyed.

"Sweetie… you need to get up and go to work soon… can't just stay in bed all morning…" Shelby reminded him. She hears him groan in response. Shaking her head, she decided to look out the window. To her surprise, she sees a wolf. It was the same wolf she saw a few days ago. It was maybe 5 or 6 feet away AND staring at her.

… _Ok… a little creepy. _Shelby sees the wolf tilt its head side to side as if examining her closely. A minute later, it decided to walk off into the forest area, disappearing from sight. The purple haired scientist crossed her arms, wondering what that was about. "Does that wolf want something from me..?" She asked to no one in particular.

Shrugging, she headed over to her dresser and picked out her clothes for today. Her mind wandered off to that strange man she met at that Sandwich place. Now that she had some time to think about it… she wondered if that man was trying to warn her of something. However, how is, "Trust no one but me," a warning? Why would she want to trust a stranger she has no idea about?

"I really don't want to go to work…" James muttered as he got up from bed, scratching his back. He picked up his clothes from the floor and placed them on. Shelby looked at him incredulously. That's not sanitary.

"Honey, that's gross… put on some fresh clothes…" Shelby shook her head at him. James waved her off and just headed to the bathroom to brush his teeth. The purple haired woman sighed, wondering how she fell in love with a sometimes lazy and sometimes unsanitary man.

After picking out her clothes for today, she placed them on the bed. She clicked her tongue, wondering if she was forgetting something. "Hmm… Oh yeah… should call over the babysitter to watch over Sydney."

She picked up her cellphone from her desk and dialed her babysitter's number. "Hello, Marlene. I need you to take care of the baby for today… What do you mean she pulls on your hair? … Look I don't care, I want her to be taken care of while my husband and I are out of the house. I'll pay you double! … Fine, triple, now get over here." She hung up the phone, sighing.

The sound of Sydney crying was heard. She sighed some more. It was too good to be true. "I'm coming sweetie, I'm coming…"

~Line Break~

"You get 10 minutes…" The security guard told Kelsey. The black haired girl nodded in response. The guard opened the cell door and let her in. She headed in and the cell door slammed behind her. Of all things that she wanted to do, visiting prison wasn't one of them. However, she needed to in order to see her best friend, Victoria. She must be really scared right now.

Kelsey sat herself down on the uncomfortable chair and looked through the glass to see her friend Victoria on the other side, depressed. She frowned, her heart breaking to see her like this. She placed her hand on the glass as if trying to touch her. "I can't believe this happened to you…" She murmured.

"… Me either…" Victoria buried her head into her arms. "My lawyer never dealt with a case that involved a Vampire before… so she was not sure how this will turn out… This is a first in Worldwide History…"

"Yeah… it was all over the news last night…" Kelsey bit her lip. Her best friend is innocent and yet they threw her in jail anyways. "This isn't right. It was self-defense. You had to do what you had to do to protect your own life…"

"I still took a life even if I didn't mean to…" Victoria sighed, lifting her head up to look at her friend. "Anyways, I wonder why I didn't turn. Don't you get turned into a Vampire as well once you are bitten by one?"

Kelsey shrugged, having no idea herself. Victoria also didn't lose that much blood from the encounter. She remembered that she said she felt drained of… something else instead. What could be that something else if it isn't blood?

"Could it be that I am immune? Nah…" Victoria shook her head. That was an outlandish thought. Kelsey didn't think that was the case either. This Vampire she encountered wasn't your ordinary Vampire in books and film.

"My trial is tomorrow… Oh I hope to god everything goes well…"

"Yeah… me too…"

The guard entered the room, looking at Kelsey. "Times up." The young magician sighed and looked at Victoria apologetically. "I'll come see you tomorrow, Vic…" The brunette could only nod in response before burying her head in her arms again. Kelsey got up and walked out the door.

~Line Break~

Shelby walked through the Commons Area, on her way to meet Ambrose to show him that survey of hers. Looking around… there was something different… well a lot different. There are some Wizards that were out and about that looked tense and anxious. Others seemed awfully quiet. What was going on?

She eyed an old lady sitting on the bench, looking quite tense as well. Shelby decided to get some answers as to why the sudden change in atmosphere around here. Yesterday everybody was happy and going about without a care in the world. Now it seems to be quite the opposite.

"Excuse me," The old lady looked up at her slowly, slightly scared. "Don't be afraid, I just would like to ask why everybody is so… tense and different today…" Shelby asked, hoping to get an answer. This is worrying.

"I'm not quite sure myself, dear… I think we are all spooked by something, but we don't know what that something is…" The old lady answered before looking down to the ground. "It's like we all feel some sort of impending doom… Well not true… there are some of us, like you, that are still the same and not feeling what we're feeling…"

_Hmm, come to think of it, I don't really feel impending doom. Sure there is magic decreasing, but that can get sorted out right? _Shelby thought to herself. She muttered her thanks to the old lady and moved on. The scientist folded her arms as she walked, thinking. Her husband, herself, and possibly others don't seem to have this feeling like the others for whatever the reason. Is it because she knows what's happening and others don't? No… that can't possibly be it.

"WIZARDS OF WIZARD CITY! WE DEMAND AN EXPLANATION!"

She hears a woman's voice yell out throughout the Commons. She turned her head to the right and sees a group of Witches come out of the Ravenwood tunnel. All heads turn to their direction, wondering what the fuss is about.

Witches don't normally visit Wizard City unless they are angered or have business. Shelby nervously looked around. Nobody seems to have the guts to face the Witches. She decided to take the initiative and talk to the lead Witch in charge of the group.

"Um, is there a problem?" Shelby nervously asked to the Witch who was in front of the group. The Witch had silver hair, mischievous yellow eyes, 5 feet tall, average chest, and wore basic black and white witch clothing just like the group she was with.

The Witch gave her wicked smile, looking her up and down. "Well, you sure have guts confronting me when no one else did… I give you props for that…" She spoke in a menacing tone. Even though the witch was 7 inches shorter than her… she was still pretty intimidating. Shelby gulped as the Witch placed a hand under her chin and then held it firmly. Their eyes locked, the witch giving her an intense look.

"Please explain to me… and I hope you have an answer for me… Actually… I demand that you have an answer for me…" The Witch kept her smile, but still looking into her eyes intensely. The scientist began to sweat. She could feel that this Witch can break her neck without a second thought given a chance.

"Um… I'll try and answer…" Shelby gulped again. The silver haired Witch grinned and then let go of her chin. She got out her wand and tapped it against her hand, her gaze never leaving the scientist. Shelby hoped she can answer, otherwise she is in BIG trouble.

"We had a strange wizard trespass on our turf recently…" The silver haired Witch began, walking around Shelby. "And we were wondering why… You do know our agreement with you Wizards… right?"

Wizards are prohibited in entering Witch City unless they have permission from the Witch Leader and Ambrose. However, Witches can visit Wizard City if they are angered by what they did within reason and if they have business. It was that way because Ambrose was more lenient on the agreement than the Witches were. They may have bad blood with each other, but Ambrose wanted peace with them.

"Yes… Who trespassed?" Shelby asked. She hoped it wasn't some dumb butt that wished to stir up trouble between the two magic races. That happened too many times to count. She and the Wizards behind her watch the silver haired Witch sigh. She turned to look at her fellow witches and they nodded.

"Well… care to explain… this foul abomination?!" She used her wand and pointed it at the ground near Shelby's feet. A large cage appeared; a storm wizard was trapped inside of it. He had vampire fangs and small wings that came out of his back. The Wizards behind Shelby gasped in horror as the Vampire looking storm wizard tried to escape and have at them.

Shelby backed away in horror. That wasn't what she expected at all. What the heck happened to him? This Vampire wasn't like the Vampires she encountered before. Wizards that are bitten by Vampires don't turn into this as far as she is concerned.

"MUST DRAIN YOU!" The Vampire hissed at her, trying to get out of the cage and bite her delicate neck. Shelby couldn't bear to look at it anymore and turned her attention to the silver haired witch who was staring at her, waiting for an answer.

"Um… what was he doing in your land, I-If I may ask?" Shelby stuttered, pulling at her collar.

"Well… I must say that he is no vampire we have ever encountered… I never would have thought he would drain magic instead of blood…" She replied, getting rather impatient. Shelby placed a hand over her mouth, shocked to hear this. Oh no… She never would have thought things would be this bad…

_Oh my god… Is this Virus turning some wizards into Magic Sucking Vampires? _Her heart sank. Things were looking worse and worse every day. If many more of this… THING, pops up, there will be problems for everybody. However, it does make her wonder… did this Virus affect Witches too? Did it also affect the other magic groups such as Sages, Magicians, etc.? Surely Wizards can't be the only ones affected… Every magic group, with the exception of some Magicians, thrives on magic. Without it they are nothing.

"Come on, Wizard… give me an answer now… or shall I break that pretty body of yours little by little…?" The silver haired witch threatened, pointing her wand at Shelby. The scientist held up her hands, wanting no trouble with the small, but intimidating witch.

"Um, I think I know the cause of this… thing." Shelby had no appropriate names for this strange creation. She pulled out the graph and the survey she had in her bag and gave it to the Witch. "I have been researching the cause of the slow disappearance of Magic in the Spiral… and according to events that have happened plus my own line of thinking… There is a Virus that is slowly eating away at everyone's magic…"

There were numerous gasps heard after she said that. Shelby sighed, it had to be let known to the public anyways, so now was a good time as any. "I can wager a guess that the Virus can have a strange effect on certain people… making them turn into… that." She gestured towards the strange vampire creature.

"Miss Zephyr, I think some of our Witches have experienced being tired after casting like two curses… when they can cast 10 normally without exhaustion!" One of the Witches behind the silver haired witch spoke to her. "I think what she is saying is the truth…"

Zephyr looked at what Shelby gave her for a minute before shoving it back into the scientist's hands. "Well… This is unfortunate… How long were you planning to keep this from your fellow wizards… and your 'ex' enemies…?"

"It's not that I meant to!" Shelby defended. "It's just that… Ambrose didn't believe me when I told him. He said I had no concrete proof that it was happening. I really wanted him to make a speech about it to the whole Spiral…"

"Why don't we head there now and 'convince' him. Something must be done…" Zephyr grabbed Shelby's ear and started to pull her towards Headmaster Ambrose's office. She eyed the group of Wizards and pointed at 2 of them. One was a green haired girl, the other an orange haired boy. "You two, carry that cage of that… THING. NOW!" She ordered them.

"Alright! Alright! I'll help, I'll help!" The girl energetically responded. She grabbed the boy next to him by the collar. "Come on Garret! Let us carry this bad boy to Ambrose!" The orange haired boy looked at the strange Vampire in the cage, quite unsure if it is safe to carry that.

"Um… Sophia… Won't he bite us?" Garret didn't like the way the Vampire was trying to claw anybody near him. Sophia looked at the Vampire and then back at him. He does have a point. Zephyr sighs and let go of Shelby's ear, letting her tend to her now pained ear.

"Fine, you wizards…" She pulls out a Tranquilizer gun and shoots at the Vampire. The dart hit the Vampire in the neck and he was instantly knocked unconscious with a groan. Shelby looked at her incredulously.

"You have a tranquilizer gun?"

"What of it?"

Zephyr yanked at her ear again and began dragging her once again. "My group, you all stay behind. It won't take long." The group nodded in response. Both Garret and Sophia picked up the cage with the unconscious vampire in it and began to follow the pair into Headmaster Ambrose's office.

~Line Break~

Kelsey headed out of the school with a saddened look on her face. She'd been wearing that face all day. Who could blame her? Her best friend is in jail for killing a Vampire, in self-defense no less. All day, she wondered how Victoria is feeling. Is she scared? Feeling alone in a Prison cell? Sad?

"Hang in there Vic…" She muttered, praying to God, if there is one, that Vic gets off the hook and they can try and forget the whole thing together. It was their last year of school. They don't want this to bring their year down.

She adjusted her backpack on her back and headed off towards her house. So many things rushing through her head, she didn't notice the tall black haired man coming towards her direction, also oblivious. The two collided with one another, but only Kelsey fell on her butt from the collision.

"Ow! Oh I am sorry! I should have paid attention to where I was going!" Kelsey apologized, getting up from the ground. The tall black haired man smiled and waved her off.

"Think nothing of it. I didn't see where I was going either…" He held out his hand to her. "My name is Alex. What is your name?" Kelsey looked at his hand and then hesitantly took it in a shake. She knew she shouldn't be talking to strangers… but there was something about him…

"I am Kelsey. Um… are you a general of sorts? You look a bit young for a general…" She finally noticed the general clothing he was wearing. Alex laughed and then gave her a charming smile. Oh how he liked girls like these.

"I guess you could say that…" He winked at her, making her blush. Kelsey looked into his eyes and noticed that his eyes were far from normal. He had one white eye and one black eye. Never in the history of this planet have there been a person with eye colors such as those, let alone having one eye being a different color than the other.

"Um… Alex… what is with your… eyes?" Kelsey asked. This man seemed highly unusual now. Where did he come from? Alex shifted a bit, knowing that it would be illogical to explain to a normal human about who he was, so he decided to lie.

"Think of it as a genetic mutation of sorts, pretty girl…" Alex smiled. Kelsey flushed, not used to get compliments such as those. This guy was such a smooth talker. However, she is not interested in dating at the moment.

"Um… thanks?"

"You're welcome. Now, I wish you good luck on your school studies… I bet you have lots of homework in that backpack of yours." Alex pointed to her backpack. "Perhaps we'll meet again." He gave her a salute and a smile before heading off. Kelsey shyly waved goodbye to him.

As she watched him leave, she sees something drop from the back pocket of his jeans. He didn't seem to notice it, so she quickly headed over to it. It looked to be a small book of sorts. On the cover, it was labeled, "Spells". Either it was a book about spells… or it is a book that contains spells. She doubted the latterer.

"ALEX! YOU DROPPED THIS!"

Apparently pretty boy didn't hear her and kept on walking. She was about to give chase to him, but he merged himself with the crowd of people on the sidewalk. Kelsey sighed. "Well if I run into him again… I'll give this back to him." She eyed the book in her hands. "I know I shouldn't look through other people's belongings, but…"

She opened the cover. This book only had 20 pages and apparently all of them had a list of… spells. That was unexpected. Are these… real? She turned to the first page of spells and read the first spell. She was slightly taken aback at this spell.

Epitomus Release Zibalba

_This spell grants the caster to transfer some of their magic into a dying person that is in need of magic to survive. It is ineffective on those that are dead since you cannot revive the dead unless you use some very dark magic. Warning, the more you use it; it will have a negative effect on you. What the negative effect might be is unknown as it appears to be random depending on the person. To use this spell, simply reach out with your hand at a target and speak those 3 words. _

"Epitomus… Release… Zilbalba?" Kelsey sounded out those words. The first and last word was kind of hard to pronounce. Can this spell actually work? Or is it just some made up book somebody made for kicks?

"I don't have magic… despite being a Magician… so I don't think anything will happen if I try this spell… if it's real." Kelsey shut the book. She'll come back to this spot and hope to find Alex so she can give it back to him. She has to get home soon or she'll face her mother's wrath.

~Line Break~

"AMBROSE! WAKE THE HELL UP!" Zephyr shouted in his ear. Ambrose woke with a terrified yell. He fell back into his chair, clutching his chest.

Shelby, Zephyr, and the unfortunate ones that had to carry the cage with the Vampire in it, had walked into his office to talk to him, but only to see him sleeping on his desk like a baby. It made Zephyr wake him up by yelling in his ear.

"Ah, Zephyr…" Ambrose calmed his beating heart. "What are you doing here…? And I see Shelby is with you too." Zephyr shoved the scientist towards him. Shelby looked at her angrily before looking at Ambrose. She had to tell him. They need this to be told to everyone in the Spiral.

"Ambrose. Remember when I said magic is disappearing?" She sees him nod in response. Shelby turned her head to look at the cage Garret and Sophia were carrying. "Well, I have some VERY big concrete evidence to back that up."

Ambrose looked at the cage she was looking at and his eyes widened in fear. "Oh my goodness! What happened to that storm wizard?!" He didn't even want to come near that thing. It looked like it was about to awake at any moment and attack.

"This bad boy turned into a Magic sucking Vampire thanks to the Virus according to the scientist." Sophia sounded a bit too cheerful saying that. Doesn't her mood dampen at all? Garret next to her can only nod in response to what Sophia said.

"I found him prowling Witch City… sucking the magic out of my fellow Witches…" Zephyr added to that. She took him by the collar and looked into his eyes intensely. "Apparently you didn't believe your scumbag scientist here… Well this was the result of magic decreasing in the Spiral according to her…"

"Don't call me scumbag, shorty…" Shelby spat… but instantly regretted it as Zephyr looked her way and dropped Ambrose to the ground. She walked over to her with a dangerous look in her eyes and a wicked smile. Zephyr pulled on her collar to bring her face closer to hers.

"Mind saying that again…? I didn't quite hear you… Speak up…" Shelby gulped. She shouldn't have opened her mouth. This Witch is powerful and so damn scary. Almost as scary as the Vampire knocked out in the cage.

"It's nothing… Please don't hurt me…" Shelby begged. The Witch smirked and shoved Shelby against the wall.

"Say something like that again will only make me want to hurt you more and hear your little cries…" Zephyr grinned. "Now, go and tell him about those signatures you acquired…" Shelby quickly nodded and hastily made her way to Ambrose with her clipboard that had all 25 signatures of the people she interviewed.

"Ambrose. This here is over 100 people that have fatigue after a small amount of using magic… I'd say it is more than enough to warrant a speech…" She gave the clipboard to him. Ambrose looked at it for a minute or two before looking back at all of them.

"100 is still a pretty small number to…" Ambrose was cut off by Zephyr who once again was grabbing him by the collar. She growled at him, smoke literally coming out of her nose. She almost had enough of this. She came here to get business done one way or another and she'll make sure it GETS done as soon as possible.

"3 of my fellow Witches died because of that stupid atrocity! My group also tells me that some others are experiencing the same fatigue that some Wizards here are facing! YOU MAKE THAT SPEECH NOW!" She demanded him. "I BELIEVE IN THIS SCIENTIST EVEN THOUGH I HATE HER GUTS! NOW DO IT!"

"Y-Yes… ma'am" Ambrose trembled in her hand. Zephyr let him go with a huff and crossed her arms. The headmaster took off his monocle to clean it since it was fogged up by the smoke that came from Zephyr's nose.

"If you are that persistent on magic disappearing… I believe you. I just… can't believe such a thing is happening…" Ambrose sighed. There was going to be a lot of work to be done to get this out to the Spiral to warn them of this news.

"Believe it Ambrose… I want to disbelieve it as well… but I can't…" Shelby sighed. Ambrose nodded slowly. They watched him go through his desk and pull out an important looking file of some kind. He never thought he would make a speech like this to the Spiral in a million years.

"It will take until tomorrow afternoon for me to officially announce this as I have to speak with the professors and the council of light to discuss this and then see where we go from there…" He pushed the speaker phone on his desk and spoke into the mic. "Brianna Stardust… Gather the members of the Council of Light to my office as soon as possible."

"Roger that, Ambrose. However, I wish you would get off your wrinkly ass and do it yourself though. But I'll do it for you, old man."

"Don't make me send you off to detention again… I don't really want to you know…"

"Do it. I don't care. I am not afraid to receive punishment. Bring it!"

"Just… get the Council of Light…"

He took his finger off the button to cut off the communication with the strange life wizard. Zephyr unfolded her arms and placed her hands on his desk, leaning into look at him. "Why can't it be done by tonight?! I want to go home, but I can't until I get this shit sorted out!"

"Things take time…" Ambrose said out to her as if she was a dummy. "Now, Zephyr you are experienced in some science yes?" He sees her nod slowly. The Witch did not know where he was going with this. He looked over at Shelby who was staring down at the floor, looking a little down.

"Then you can help Shelby speed up the process of testing that Vampire and figuring out what this "Virus" is." Ambrose explained. "Hopefully you'll have that figured out before I make my speech…"

Zephyr looked at him incredulously for a moment, before her expression softened. This was not what she wanted to do, but she needed to get this sorted out fast. Getting angry at every little thing was not the answer. She crossed her arms and sighed, nodding.

"But… Ambrose…" Shelby interjected. "The Lab is closed until 5:00 AM the next day. I can't do experiments on him now… Even then with sh-" She quickly stopped herself when Zephyr looked her way dangerously. "Even with Zephyr's help I can't get exact results that quickly…"

Ambrose looked at her tiredly. "Then work 3 times harder… Now go… I have a lot of unexpected work I never thought I'd do…" He looked over at Sophia and Garret. "You can put that THING in the corner. Shelby can come pick him up tomorrow." The two nodded and did just that. With that, Zephyr yanked Shelby by the ear and pulled her outside.

"Ow! You know… you have a real obsession with pulling my ear like that…"

"Only because I love your pained expression…" She smacked her upside the head. Shelby rubbed the bruise she received as she stared at the silver haired witch. Zephyr looked at her watch. It was 12:23 PM. She can't go back to Witch City as she promised the Witch leader that she will have everything resolved before she comes back… but nothing has been resolved just yet.

"Where is your house? I am staying the night."

"WHAT?! Why don't you use a hotel if you can't go back home yet?!"

Zephyr slapped her angrily. "Don't even suggest those icky horrible places again! Now, I am staying the night at your house until we can experiment on that stupid abomination! I hate this as much as you do, but live with it!" She got out her wand to threaten her if need be. "Unless you want me to turn you into a frog..? Is that what you want?"

"N-No!"

"Then show me the way…" Zephyr pushed her forwards, unfazed by Shelby's glare. The Scientist gave up, knowing that it was a losing battle. She'll let her stay the night and then try to work with her. However, she hopes she never sees her again afterwards. Meeting her again will be much too soon.

_Me and Zephyr…_

_I would never imagine that she and I will be seeing a lot of each other…_

_She seemed like the kind of person I will forget easily after we were done testing the Vampire…_

_She never left my mind… I guess she has that effect on people…_

_As time went on… I had a bad feeling that when I test this Vampire… Something more horrible…_

_Something more terrifying… Will happen…_

_3 days until the End of the Spiral…_

_**CCCCCCCCCC**_

_**Probably one of my worst chapters as I am not happy with the outcome. However, I know I'll be better in the next chapter. And no, there are no plot elements of Witches and Wizards in here just because there ARE Witches and Wizards in here. I'll see you next time!**_


	5. The Beginning of the End Part 5

**Angel: I tried to get 10,000 words, but then it looked like padding, so I removed it. I'll try again next chapter. Anyways grab a snack to read this bad boy… unless you read pretty fast, in which case good for you! Please enjoy! I worked really hard on it!**

**At Sophia-DC: Well I didn't know. On your OC form you had him with only one T. Well it is fixed now. **

**OC's that appear in this chapter: None**

**OC's that appear next chapter: All except Minor OC's. **

**Words: 8,780**

_Wizards falling into Comas_

_Bodies being found with their eyeballs missing…_

_Mentally Ill attacking others…_

_And now new Vampires show up because of the Virus…_

_If those aren't signs for the Apocalypse, I don't know what is…_

_Too bad my past self didn't get the memo, eh?_

_So the next day, Zephyr and I went to the Lab to do some experiments on that Vampire…_

_Little did I know… that identifying the Virus and trying to find a cure…_

_It will spell doom for us all as time goes by…_

_~Line Break~_

Shelby's cellphone alarm clock rang out through the dark bedroom. The purple haired scientist groaned and reached over to the noisy perpetrator on the counter next to the bed. She gently swiped a finger across the screen of the cellphone and it turned off. She gently rubbed at her tired eyes as she got up from bed, careful not to disturb her still sleeping husband. Shelby really wanted to get more sleep, but nope, she has to find out the Virus that plagued a Vampire!

It was 3:50 AM, just enough time for her to get ready, eat breakfast, and head out with Zephyr to Ambrose's office to pick up the Vampire and then off to the Lab. Speaking of Zephyr; she was in the living room, sleeping on the couch. She did not have an extra room for her to sleep in, but it is not like she wanted to give her one anyways. Shelby sort of hated the shorty witch.

Her personality is one she can live without. Zephyr is so bossy and demanding. She hoped she never sees her again after they were done working with each other. With a huff, she placed on her robe and marched quietly over to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

She opened the door to the bathroom and she sees Zephyr… naked in the dark who looked like she was ready to take a shower. "ZEPHYR?!"

The silver haired witch let out a squeak and turned to face her. "Shelby?! Ever heard of knocking?" She wrapped a towel around herself to cover up parts of her body frantically. Shelby rolled her eyes.

"Why are you hiding your body, you got nothing that I haven't seen before…"

"Because it is embarrassing…" Zephyr flushed. Shelby was confused at that. She didn't think the Witch would be one to blush or be embarrassed over something as trivial as being seen naked by another woman no less.

"Well anyways, I didn't knock because the lights weren't on… how the hell was I supposed to know that you were in here?" Shelby placed her hands on her hips, looking at her. Zephyr placed her index fingers together, embarrassed.

"I… like taking a shower in the dark… I know it's weird… I just… like it…" Now, this wasn't what she expected from Zephyr. She thought she would blow up her in face and slap her or something, but all she sees is a totally different woman doing weird things. Well granted she brushes her teeth and takes a shower at the same time but that is beside the point.

"Well you could have locked the door at least…" Shelby looked at her with narrowed eyes.

"I thought you were going to wake up a bit later… so I didn't…"

Zephyr then smiled, something Shelby did not expect from her. "I guess you were about to take a shower too, huh? Do you want to go at the same time to save water?"

"What?! Didn't you just get worked up by me seeing you naked?!" Shelby was disgusted at the idea of taking a shower WITH a woman she hates a bit. Not to mention she was a little weirded out by Zephyr's change in mood.

"Well yeah… but if you were going to take a shower anyways we might as well since it takes less time and saves water…"

"HELL NO!"

15 minutes later…

Both Zephyr and Shelby were fully clothed and in the kitchen. Shelby was busy cooking bacon, eggs, and sausages for the both of them. She didn't really want to feed Zephyr, but she was a guest. An unwanted and strange guest to be sure, but nonetheless a guest. She has to show hospitality to guests. Her mother always taught her that.

"I hate to ask… but you seem to be a different person than what you were yesterday. Getting all bossy and up in everyone's face… especially mine… Why the sudden change of heart?" Shelby looked over her shoulder at the silver haired woman that was sitting at the dining table. Zephyr blushed and looked down at the floor.

"I… have a strange multi-personality disorder…" Zephyr ran a hand through her silver hair, giggling lightly. "Every day I am a different person. Sometimes I am the "Bossy" person you came to see me as… other times I am this person… Sometimes I am even crazy… You get the point…" She sighed as she scratched the itch on her right leg.

"If I had a choice I would be a normal person with one personality… but I am who I am…" Zephyr finished as she was handed a plate with 2 slices of bacon, 2 eggs, and 4 sausages. "Thanks." She grabbed her knife and fork and began to eat.

"What happened to you that made you be that way, then?" Knowing this information, her hatred only dimmed slightly for the strange witch, but… she is still weird. She knew she shouldn't be hating people that can't control who they are… but… it still disturbs her.

"… I rather not talk about it…" Zephyr shook her head, taking a bite out of the sausage. "You're a good cook by the way…" Shelby scratched the back of her head, not used to a compliment such as that. Her husband thinks her cooking is average.

"Thanks?"

Shelby sat down on the opposite side of Zephyr with her plate and began to eat as well. The two ate in awkward silence. Neither having any idea what to say to one another. All that can be heard was the sound of their utensils picking at the food.

As Shelby ate, she wondered if a cure can be found for this Virus. The Virus as of now is unknown, but she knows it exists. She needs to figure out WHERE and HOW the Virus came to be. When something appears, there is usually a logical explanation as to why it appeared. It is her job as a Scientist to explore the unknown and explain the unknown.

"Shelby?"

Said woman turned to look at Zephyr. "What?" The silver haired woman placed down her utensils and placed her hands together, thinking. Shelby placed hers down as well. Judging by the look on her face, this seemed serious.

"… I had a dream. It wasn't a pretty dream." Zephyr started, biting her lip. "People were screaming… Buildings were on fire… Bodies… everywhere…" She shuddered. The dream felt so real to her. "And I can't help but feel like… something just like that… is going to happen soon."

"Dreams aren't real…" Shelby said simply before returning to her meal, seemingly uninterested to hear about Zephyr's dream. Before she could get back to enjoying her meal, a magical force forced her to stop eating and made her look at Zephyr. The Witch had her wand out and was using it on her.

"Please, listen. I know you don't like me… but could you just listen?" Zephyr politely asked, her eyes begging her to listen. Shelby sighed and nodded as much as she could. The witch dropped her magical hold on her head and placed her wand away.

"Good, thank you." Zephyr rested her head on her right hand. "Now. I never told you this yesterday… Well I was in a bossy mood so I guess I wouldn't have told you anyways… but after hearing your news that magic was getting closer to… well extinction. Somewhere in my heart tells me that… there is no stopping to this "Virus"."

"Why you say that? You don't know that. I am sure there is a cure that can be made to counter this Virus…" Shelby reasoned with her. Zephyr shook her head. She didn't understand.

"I don't know. I feel like there isn't anything to stop it even if we did try… Tell me… Be honest… Do you honestly feel that there is a cure for this Virus?" Zephyr looked into her eyes, awaiting her truthful answer. If she lies, she'll know.

Shelby bit her lip, thinking. One of her tasks as a Scientist is discovering cures for certain things. However, this Virus, whatever it is, seemed really dangerous and powerful. Finding a cure will be a daunting task, even for her. She slapped her hands against her blue jeans, sighing. There is a small part of her thinking that it may be futile. "Honestly, it seems would be damn near impossible to find one…" She grabbed her fork and stabbed it into the sausage. "But… it doesn't mean I can't try. It may seem hopeless, but not trying isn't the solution…" She told her before slipping the sausage into her mouth.

"I envy you." The Witch grabbed her fork. "If you can find a cure… We'll all be indebted you, myself included." She smiled weakly. "But… I don't think you can…" Zephyr's smile dropped and she looked at her half-eaten plate of food.

_I honestly hope there is a cure… and I'll try and find it. Believing is all I can do to keep me sane from this… Virus infected Spiral… _Shelby placed down her fork, suddenly not feeling hungry at all. Her guest felt the same way. The scientist took a glance at the kitchen clock and noticed it was nearing 4:30 AM. It is about time they hit the road and grab that Vampire.

"Want to throw out the food and go now?"

"Sure…"

~Line Break~

Zephyr opened the door to Headmaster Ambrose's office, peering inside. Ambrose was sleeping at his desk, arms behind his head and feet on his desk. She looked to the right and sees the Vampire was looking her way, hungry for her magic. It hissed at her, trying to grab her through the cage, but of course, she was way out of reach.

Rolling her eyes, she pulled out her Tranquilizer gun. "Night, Night." She pulled the trigger and the dart hit the Vampire in the neck, once again knocking it out. Shelby and Zephyr entered the room and headed over to the cage, picking it up.

"Still can't get over the fact that you carry a Tranquilizer gun." Shelby grunted, finding it a bit difficult to carry this cage even with Zephyr's help. Hmm, she is a small woman. That might explain it. She was glad that the witch couldn't read her thoughts.

"It's for protection for the most part…" Zephyr explained, "Using major spells on this Vampire is a waste of magical energy… and due to the fact that it is getting weaker, it is best to conserve." She and Shelby headed out the office, closing the door softly behind them as to not wake Ambrose up from his sleep.

"How far is the walk to the Lab?" Zephyr asked as she hated to do physical labor for more than 10 minutes. Shelby thought for a few seconds, thinking about the amount of time it took her to get from here to the Lab.

"Oh, 15 minutes if we're walking. Probably longer if we're carrying this…" Shelby answered her, receiving a groan from the witch. The scientist shrugged, not knowing what to say. She hated this as much as her.

It was awfully silent at this time of day. The sun hasn't even appeared over the horizon yet, so people are still sleeping. Oh how Shelby wished she can sleep for just a few more hours. As they kept on walking, she took a brief moment to look up at the sky. The Full Moon was still dominating the night sky with its beautiful glow.

"I always liked the moon when it is full." Zephyr commented, knowing what Shelby was looking at. "It gives me a sense of peace… Almost every night when it comes… I just like to lie back on the freshly wet grass and just stare at it for hours on end…"

"Wish you were doing that now, huh?"

"Anything is better than doing this crap. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind helping you even if it seems futile." Zephyr told her before she got the wrong idea. Shelby shrugged in response. Not really caring if she received Zephyr's help or not. She still has bitter feelings for her after their first encounter.

As if reading her mind, Zephyr looked at her, feeling bad. "Look I am sorry you had to see that side of me first, but I can't control what I do or who I am. I am not even sure what my real personality is when I have so many personalities for so many years…" She sighed, shaking her head. "Do you think we can maybe start over?"

"… I don't think so." Shelby shook her head. "I am sure you're not a bad person, but I don't think I see myself seeing you a lot after this whole charade is done and dealt with." Zephyr frowned, expecting as much from her. Hardly anyone wants to be her real friend after seeing that she has multiple personalities; it is a curse, really.

"Alright, I respect your decision."

_20 minutes later…_

Shelby and Zephyr arrived at the Lab, almost physically exhausted from carrying this cage with the Vampire. They both placed the caged abomination down on the ground and took a quick break to get their breath back and relax some of their muscles. As a person gets older it certainly reduces their stamina a bit.

"33 years old and I am sweating bricks after carrying this damn cage… WITH another person no less…" Shelby wiped the sweat off her brow.

"You got 3 years on me and I feel like I am going to have a heart attack… Whew… maybe I should work out more…" Zephyr walked over to the nearby drinking fountain and took a few gulps of water. Shelby looked towards the door of the Lab and sees that the door was knocked down. There was a small pool of blood just near the knocked down door.

"… That can't be good."

"What?" Zephyr looked over to where Shelby was looking at and then froze. She had a bad feeling about this. She made her way over to the pool of blood and placed her finger in it. She rubbed it with her thumb as if testing something out. "This blood is about 10 to 12 minutes fresh out of the body…"

"How the hell did you know that?"

"I am a Body Witch. I cast spells and curses that involve the body along with some basic spells all witches should know. As that type of Witch, I need to know how long the blood has been shed from a body. Strange, but it is what a Body Witch does…" She examined the claw marks on the door that have been knocked down.

"Judging by this…" She placed a finger on the claw mark, feeling it. "This was made by a Human. No doubts about that." She closed her eyes, feeling the emotions that have went through the attack on the door. "This is made from a Human that is mentally ill… Who can't think for him or herself."

_Wait… that newspaper I read 2 days ago. It involved 5 mentally ill wizards that attacked other wizards who were visiting the Hospital. Something about, "Wanting to drain them…" That could mean… _Shelby gasped; she should have realized it sooner. It was so obvious, yet she missed it. God damn it!

"Oh no…" She ran into the Lab without a second to lose. Zephyr picked herself off the ground and chased after her. They rushed into the Computer Room where they were face to face with a scene that was burned into their brains.

20 or more scientists were all lying dead on the floor with their eyeballs gone and a pool of blood around them. There was a bald half-naked man beating a woman scientist who was already dead. He looked deranged…

He took notice of them after one of them gasped. Without a second thought, he rushed over to them, ready to take them both down. Zephyr quickly took out her wand and started to cast a spell. "Punish the evil that is out and about, turn him inside out!"

The man screamed as his whole body was turned inside out where the muscles and other matter were on the outside and skin was on the inside. Unfortunately, Humans can't live that way and he fell to the floor and died.

Zephyr fell to the floor on one knee, that spell almost drained her. "Gah… should have… used a minor spell… That was… stupid…" Shelby placed a hand on her shoulder. Concerned she was. Even if she disliked her, she doesn't like to see a person in pain.

"Don't push yourself, sit on that chair and try to recover your magical energy…" Shelby gently picked her up from the floor and then led her over to a nearby chair with wheels and sat her down on it. Zephyr winced, feeling the pain of being almost magically drained.

"What… did he do their eyeballs…? I can sense that all except that dead woman he was punching is completely deprived of magic…" Zephyr asked, as she clutched her left arm with her right hand, looking down into her lap.

"I… I honestly don't know. I think it has something to do with magic being gone from their bodies or something…" Shelby may not know the answer as to what happened with their eyeballs, but she did have an answer to the draining. "Epitomus Sacrifice Zilbalba…. He used that to drain their magic…"

"Epit…omus Sacrifice… Zibalba… that sounds so familiar…" Zephyr tried to think where she heard that before. "So, a mentally ill Wizard who I think was lacking magic… burst into this Lab and killed everyone then used that spell to harvest their magic…?"

"Yeah… you're about right. He needed them to be on the verge of death or dead. It won't work on healthy living beings. It is basically sacrificing them just so you can live just a bit longer…" Shelby was sorry for all these people that died to this mentally ill wizard. It will be a bit hard to do Lab work in here with all these bodies.

"…" Zephyr got up from her chair and pushed herself towards the dead woman that the man was beating up. Shelby sees this and wondered what the hell she was doing. She got her answer when she kneeled down and placed her hand on the body.

"Wait, Zephyr, that spell has its consequences!" Shelby warned her. "Also, that's morally wrong!"

"She's dead… why let magic go to waste?" Zephyr closed her eyes. "I only want to do it once. My body is so weak. I need to get some magic in me…" She ignored the yells from the scientist and focused some of her remaining magical energy to cast the spell. "Epitomus Sacrifice Zilbalba…"

Her hand shimmered with a red glow to it. Purple energy emerged from the deceased woman and into the witch. Zephyr let out a gasp as she feels all the emotions and magical energy this woman had. Her body trembled as it took in the magic, along with a few other things. She no longer felt weak. In fact, she felt heaps better than before.

"That… was really pleasurable…" Zephyr shivered as she got up from the floor. "It gave me a spine tingling sensation." Shelby looked at her wide-eyed, not believing the fact that the Witch just drained a dead woman's magic.

"I… what? That… just isn't right…" Shelby looked away from her, feeling ashamed for even mentioning that spell. She just absorbed a dead woman's magic. Way to disturb someone's body…. Judging by what Zephyr just said, if someone uses that spell too much, it will get very addictive.

"Just… don't do it again. I have a feeling you might turn into him if you do that…" Shelby warned her as she turned on the Computers in the room. Regardless of the events that transpired, they needed to get Ambrose their answer on this Virus that turned the Storm Wizard into a Vampire. Also, they might run some tests on that Mentally Ill person that tried to attack them. They'll deal with the bodies afterwards.

"I won't… I just needed to do it at least once. I felt like I was going to pass out if I didn't do something about it…" Zephyr stated. She did it once just to get back her magic. She won't ever need it again… she hopes. Shelby nodded and headed outside to get the Vampire to test on. It is going to be a long morning. Ambrose's speech starts at noon, so they better hurry.

"I'll drag the cage over here. You know your way around a needle right?" Shelby yelled from the hallway. Zephyr nodded, but then realized that she couldn't see her nod.

"Yes, I know my way around those believe it or not…" Zephyr left out a joke about needles and bodies since it might offend Shelby. She eyed the various needles on the table and picked one up. It has been a while since she done some scientific work.

It took 3 minutes for Shelby to drag the cage into the room. Good thing the Vampire is still knocked out. If they have to, they'll shoot another dart on him. She sat herself down in a chair and rolled herself up to a Computer. "Take some blood from him so I can analyze it." She tapped the beaker that was under a mechanism hooked up to the computer. "Place it in here once you got the blood." She instructed her as she logged in.

Zephyr nodded, understanding the basic procedures for this thing. "Yeah I know. I've done this plenty of times…" She gently touched the tip with her finger as if testing it out. She cleaned it afterwards and then looked towards the Vampire. She kneeled down to the cage and gently inserted the needle into the Vampire's arm, drawing some blood.

"By the way, what made you become a scientist?" Zephyr asked as she examined the blood she got from the Vampire. It, for some reason, was slightly pink. That was unusual.

"I rather not give my life story right now. It is imperative that we figure this Virus out ASAP." Shelby scolded her before returning to her typing. Zephyr understood the situation, but… she just wanted to talk to get her mind off things. She headed over to the beaker and released the slightly pink blood into it. Shelby glanced at it for a second before turning her full attention back to the computer.

"Blood is a different color… Interesting." Shelby turned on the mechanism that was tied to the beaker and it began to analyze it. "This Virus is very unique, let's see what kind of things is inside this blood…" She waited for the computer to analyze the blood.

_Analyzing…_

_26 percent…_

_57 percent…_

_88 percent…_

_Analyzing complete…_

_Traces of Magic Poison Water were found…_

_Magic Poison Water: It comes from slightly polluted waters that were tainted by Wand Factories._

"Magic Poison Water? Doesn't that just make magical animals feel fatigued?" Zephyr asked, scratching her head. Shelby nodded, knowing what Magic Poison Water does. It happened in early 2014. Apparently if a magical being ever swims in the water, it releases a toxin that taints the water they are swimming in. Shelby feared the worst, knowing where the Virus now stems from. She had to double check.

_Back in early 2014, Magical Wand Factories have been made across the Spiral to ensure there are wands for every magical being. However, the Toxic magical wastes that those Factories produce have contaminated the water and the atmosphere. _

_After a few months, the Magic Poison Water morphed into a small but dangerous virus to the Magical Animals, causing them to be fatigued instantly if they even took a drink of it. It also causes some of them to be on a rampage . The Animals can infect each other if they come in contact. Magic Poison water can come from the rain as well. It will only affect magical animals._

"Oh no… Those Wand Factories are a huge problem. It turned the water into something dangerous for all of us…" Shelby couldn't believe what she was seeing. THEY were responsible for this Virus. Zephyr was speechless. She didn't think that the pollution of the waters would turn out into something like this. Sure she was concerned for what it did for the animals… but not like this.

"We have to tell Ambrose that we must shut down those Factories." Shelby got up from her chair, ready to run over there and tell him. Before she could take off, Zephyr grabbed her by the shoulders. She looked into the scientist's eyes.

"I don't think shutting down the Factories is a good solution… We are all fucked now. We did this, we must live with it." Zephyr told her. Shelby didn't believe her and shoved her off of her. The scientist quickly printed out a copy of what they found; they needed to show this to the whole Spiral.

"How can you say that? If we shut them down, there will be no more Magic Poison Water made."

"You're missing the point. At this point in time," Zephyr started as she took the beaker with the Vampire Blood in it. "We are all infected. Getting rid of the Factories help, but the damage is done… Unless no one has been in contact with the Rain or even touched the Magic Poison Water, we are screwed unless there is a cure that can be made to combat this Virus."

Shelby couldn't believe that. She DIDN'T want to believe it. However, she stayed silent. She has nothing to say to that. Zephyr smiled weakly and placed a hand on her shoulder for comfort. "However, since you're willing to try and find a cure, I suggest you do it now. The faster you do it, the faster that everyone MIGHT be saved." She was mostly lying to her face. There is no hope for a cure. Sooner or later, this Virus will turn everybody weak and then things will get out of control. This made her sad. Really sad. This is how it was going to be… Zephyr handed her the beaker with the blood. Shelby took it and looked at it, thinking.

"I hate to admit it, but you're right. I need to get working." She placed the beaker down and sat back down in her chair. "Go grab some Chemicals from the Storage Room." She reached into her pocket and pulled out some keys to hand over.

"Okay…" Zephyr smiled weakly and took them. She walked out of the room. She briefly looked back at Shelby and then turned her attention to the hallway. "… I want to hope for a cure… I do… but I am just not feeling it…"

~Line Break~

"_Hey, hey Victoria." A young Kelsey called out to Victoria who was several feet in front of her, standing in a line at a food truck. The brunette turned to look at her and smiled. They both hugged each other for a few seconds before letting go. _

"_Kelsey. Good to see you, buddy." Victoria ruffled Kelsey's raven black hair, making the other girl whine. She grinned and then placed her hands in her pocket. "I was just about to grab some grub. Want anything?"_

_Kelsey shook her head. "No, not really. I already ate. Anyways, I have been watching the Discovery Channel lately…" _

"_You really shouldn't watch that channel. Half the things they say aren't true anyways."_

"_Well yeah, I get that, but I have been watching it and it is talking about the possibility of an Apocalypse." Kelsey scratched her head, a bit scared at the concept of dying in one. "Do you think one might happen soon?"_

_Victoria sighed. She excused herself from the line and told Kelsey that they should sit down at one of the tables. They found a nice table near a fountain and they sat down to talk. Victoria placed her hands together and looked into Kelsey's eyes. "Look. As much as people talk about it, I don't think one is coming anytime during our generation."_

"_But what if it does happen? What then?" Kelsey asked, wanting to know what her friend thought of it. Victoria sees that Kelsey is serious about the topic and she seems to be scared. Well, as her friend, it is her job to ease her fears._

"_If it happens, there is nothing we can do to stop it. The whole universe does some crazy things I'm sure and we'll all be wiped out like the Dinosaurs before our time." _

"_But what if some of us survive? Like perhaps you and me, what do we do?" Kelsey asked, wanting her input. Victoria ran a hand through her hair, thinking for a minute. That was a good question. She never pictured herself in a Post-Apocalyptic World._

"_Well, if I managed to survive, but I seriously doubt that, then I would try to find other survivors and rebuild society." Victoria told her. "However, there are numerous types of Apocalypses that could happen. If its Zombies, screw trying to rebuild society with those around, but if it is something like Haley's Comet hitting the Earth and we somehow survive it, then there is a possibility we can try to get things the way they were." _

"_How come you doubt you'll survive?" Kelsey asked. _

"_Because I surely won't know what to do when an Apocalypse comes. Plus, the thought of surviving after the whole thing goes down… it's horrible. If you survived, but your loved ones didn't… What's the point of living?" _

_Kelsey took what her friend said into account. She's right. If you lose everything… Why must you continue living? Unless there is an ulterior motive for wanting to stay alive in a Post-Apocalyptic World. "Well if it does come, do you think we should… die together?" _

_Victoria looked at her, surprised. "Well… I suppose. It's better to die with someone than to die alone, right?" _

"_Yeah…" Kelsey smiled a bit. "Friends are together till the bitter end, yeah?" _

_The brunette smiled, nodding. "Alright. If an Apocalypse comes, I promise to die with you." _

"_I'll hold you to that…" Kelsey smiled, placing her hand on one of Victoria's, making the brunette blush. "Don't break your promise…"_

"_I won't." _

Kelsey awoke from her sleep. She sat up and groggily rubbed at her tired eyes. She looked at the clock on her bedroom counter. "7:02 AM" She muttered to herself before yawning. She thought briefly on the dream she just had. Well a dream and flashback mixed together. She never had a dream like that. Did it mean something? Was her brain trying to warn her of something?

"It's probably nothing. Dreams are weird anyways." Kelsey muttered to herself before getting up from the bed. She slipped out of her pajamas and headed towards the bathroom to get ready for the day. Her parents have yet to wake up, so she has plenty of time to do some things before they do.

Also, Victoria's trial starts at noon. She should go over to the Courtroom at 11:00. She hoped to whatever all powerful being that is up above that Victoria gets a not-guilty verdict. Her friend does not deserve to be in Prison.

She slipped into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. She eyed the radio on the bathroom counter. "I think I'll listen to the news while I take a shower." Turning the Radio on to the news station, she pulled out the hair pins that were keeping her hair up. The sounds of the news anchorman were heard as she slipped into the bathtub and pulled the shower curtains. She doesn't even bother to wait for the water to get warm as the water hit her naked body from the shower head.

"The Beavers and the Ducks are facing off once again at this Sunday's Football Game. Who will win this time?" The Anchorman asked to the many thousand people that were tuning into this station. Kelsey scoffed as she applied Head and Shoulders Shampoo to her hair. Football is so overrated in her opinion. Soccer on the other hand… now that is an exciting sport. It's too bad that it is not as popular as Football in America.

"In other news, 25 people have collapsed in exhaustion simultaneously when the rain started last night."

_25 people? That's a big number. Also, how would people collapse in exhaustion due to the rain? Must be some coincidence. The rain is harmless… unless you're talking about Acid Rain. _Kelsey thought as she applied soap to her naked body.

"Doctors are trying to figure out what the cause of their sudden exhaustion is. Could there be something in last night's rain..? Or is it just some strange coincidence that they all felt tired at the same time? We'll let you know more when we have more info."

"I'll keep that in mind." Kelsey spoke as if trying to talk to the anchorman. After cleaning her body, she turned off the shower and slipped out of the bathtub. She grabbed a towel to dry herself and then turned off the Radio. There were many things to worry about, and 25 people collapsing in exhaustion is not one of them.

"…Okay, got to put on some new clothes, eat breakfast, watch some TV, and then go see Victoria." She said to herself. Nodding that that was what she should do today, she headed out the bathroom to go put on some clothes. It is going to be a long day.

~Line Break~

"Judgment Day…" Shelby sighed as she headed to Ambrose's office. Behind his office was a tower that appears every time that Ambrose needs to make a speech. Just so he can speak to Wizard City from up there. The Video Cameras will broadcast his speech to the rest of the Spiral. Everything seemed to be set up the way it is. Ambrose just needs her news and then they can begin.

Zephyr and herself have made all the experiments they could do on the blood to make a cure… but nothing was working… Well they had limited time, so Shelby hoped to get a crack at it again tomorrow after everything has been said to the Spiral.

"Well, no cure after hours of experimenting…" Zephyr sighed. Shelby turned her head to look at her and then back to the road ahead of her. She shook her head.

"Cures can't be made within hours of experiments. It takes days… maybe months…" Shelby told her.

"…If we live that long…" Zephyr muttered to herself quietly. Thankfully, Shelby didn't hear her. When she gets back to Witch City, she is going to make sure her kind will survive any upcoming disasters that will come from this Virus. Wizard City… she'll leave up to Shelby and Ambrose.

They entered the office. Ambrose was talking to the Emperor of Mooshu, one of the members of the Council of Light. They decided to stop and listen to their conversation.

"I am glad you told us all about this Virus, Ambrose. My people in Mooshu will prepare to combat the Virus in any way possible." The Emperor bowed respectively to him. Ambrose merely nodded with a grim look on his face. He looks really pale. Well, can't blame him, if there is a dangerous virus out and about, he would be pale.

"Yes, head back to Mooshu. My speech to the whole Spiral will begin shortly."

Ambrose turned his attention to the girls as the Emperor promptly headed out of the room. He smiled weakly and headed over to him as fast as his old legs can carry him. He wanted to hear their news, whether good or bad… preferably good news.

"Anything good?" He looked at them, practically begging for them to give him something good. The 2 women looked at one another and then back at Ambrose with a sad look on their faces. They shook their heads. Ambrose sighed, wanting to just lie down and not deal with all this drama right now.

"Did you figure out what was the cause for this Virus?" Ambrose asked as he cleaned his monocle. Shelby pulled out a piece of paper and gave it to him.

"Yes. It stems from Magic Poison Water." Shelby told him as Ambrose read the paper she gave him. His eyes widened at all the information that they managed to find about this matter.

"I regret ever making those Magic Wand Factories… now everybody is infected with this… Virus…"

"I named it, Anti-Magic Virus. It's a simple and plain name, but whatever." She sighed. "I need more time to figure out a cure. But in the meantime, make that speech and tell the Spiral to shut down every Magic Factory… scratch that, EVERY factory. They do more harm than they do good!"

"Why every factory?"

"Better safe than sorry. It will make the rain a little less harmful to us Wizards." Shelby explained. "Overexposure to the rain now will make a magical being be drained of their magic faster. If the rain is less harmless, we can be in the rain for a large amount of time."

Ambrose stood there, stroking his long grey beard. He was taking a minute to think about her suggestion. They can't possibly force every world in the Spiral to shut down ALL the factories. If they do, the worlds will revolt against them and that will bring more problems. "I am afraid I can only ask of them to shut down the Wand Factories for the time being." Ambrose told her.

Shelby threw her hands up in the air and then back down, as if to say, "Whatever." She was tired and really hungry. Zephyr and herself worked nonstop without eating. Shutting down the Wand Factories is a start, but eventually they will have shut down more than just Wand Factories if the rain still becomes unbearable to them.

Speaking of which… it has been a while since Wizard City encountered rain. 2 months ago it rained. When is Wizard City going to have rain again? She'll have to check after this whole speech is done. If it rains, she'll make sure she stays indoors until it subsides.

Zephyr turned to face Shelby. "Well, Shelby, I need to go back home now. My family is waiting." She placed her hands on her hips and stared into her eyes. "Protect yourself, you hear?" Shelby could only nod in response. The silver haired witch then placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Good luck in finding a cure… also…" She leaned into whisper into her ear, "Even if you think we'll never meet again… I somehow doubt it… because… I somehow have a feeling we'll meet a lot more than you think…" Zephyr didn't even wait for a response as she walked out the door. Shelby watched her leave, wondering why she thinks that. Is she going to try and find her again or something?

"Sad to see her go so soon, but Witches have their duties to do, too." Ambrose commented as he adjusted his robes. He patted Shelby on the shoulder. "Come on, you'll be joining me in telling everybody the news… You are the one who discovered it."

_Why do I have a bad feeling about this? _Shelby thought, following Ambrose outside so they can head to the tower just behind his office. "Oh, by the way," Shelby remembered she should tell him about the encounter in the Lab. "A lot of my fellow scientists have died to a mentally ill wizard and tried to kill both me and Zephyr."

Ambrose looked at her, horrified and concerned at the same time. "Oh my. Don't tell me it is the effect of the Virus…" Shelby thought about it for a second before shrugging. She placed her hands behind her head as she looked into the sky, careful not to look directly at the sun.

"Well, in some ways. I tested him out and he was indeed filled with Magic Poison Water and of course infected with the Virus, but I think he was mentally ill due to the… well not 100 percent sure… but it might have something to do with the effects of Epitomus Sacrifice Zilbalba."

Ambrose froze. That was a spell he wished was vanished from people's minds. "Epitomus Sacrifice Zibalba? Don't people know that it is a dark and dangerous forbidden spell?" This was even more of a problem. If people are willing to go that far just to get magic flowing back into their system… A lot of people will suffer and die…

"Do you know a lot about it?" Shelby asked.

"Well yes. If you use that spell too many times in one day… you start losing your mind. That spell pleasures the caster and it will get very addictive. It is very hard for a normal magical being to get away from it. It is kind of like smoking, you get addicted, it is hard to quit and stay away from it." Ambrose sighed. He wondered if he should tell them to stay away from that spell… However, telling them will be informing them that there is a way to get their magic back. There are a lot of people that won't listen if he does that, so he'll be quiet on that fact.

"Well, how many people know about the spell?" Shelby opened the door to the Tower and let Ambrose in first before going in herself and then shutting it softly behind her. Ambrose stroked his grey beard in thought.

"Well, I hope not many. I mean… how many Wizards and or magical beings actually read the spell book from page to page?" Ambrose inquired. Shelby scratched her head a bit. She knew a few that did that when they were bored, but… will they even remember that particular spell even if they read the whole damn spell book?

"I'd say a small amount…"

"Well let's hope so… If too many people know of that spell's existence… Gah, I don't even want to think about what would happen…" Ambrose looked at her with a stern look. "Shelby, promise me that you won't speak to anyone about that spell's existence…"

"… but I already discussed it with Zephyr… do we need to make her promise too?" Shelby already regretted talking about it to Zephyr, but now… even more so. Ambrose sighed, knowing what he had to do after the speech.

"Alright then, I'll contact her about it after the speech. Just make sure not to tell anyone else. Keep it quiet!"

"Okay…"

Ambrose nodded. They walked up the Spiral Staircase that led to the top of the tower where Ambrose will make the speech in front of a camera and to those throughout Wizard City. "I wish there was a spell that can erase a specific memory out of everyone's mind. Too bad it doesn't exist yet…"

"That'd be way too convenient… but also helpful…" Shelby commented as they finally made it to the top floor and pushed through the doors that led into the final room of the tower. Multiple Video Cameras and other equipment flooded their view along with a few guards by the balcony.

"Stay in here until I call you out…" Ambrose told her. Shelby shrugged uncaringly and turned to face a painting on the wall.

Ambrose made his way to the balcony, nodding to the guards on the way. He looked down from the balcony, seeing the many citizens of Wizard City wandering about. Some even were standing still and looking up at him. The Video Cameras flipped on and were now recording him, broadcasting it all over the Spiral. He tapped the microphone a couple of times. "Test." His voice boomed over Wizard City. Figuring that was loud enough, he began.

"Hello, good afternoon everyone in the Spiral!" He stopped to pause as a lot of people suddenly turned their attention towards him. They slowly made their way to the tower to look at him better. He pulled on his collar, feeling nervous to talk about this.

"I come to make this broadcast to tell you some… rather unfortunate news. News that is so important that I need everyone to listen to me. This is a life or death news." He hears some loud murmurs coming from below him. He can tell that the citizens seemed worried.

"Everybody in the Spiral, I am afraid you are ALL infected with a Magic draining Virus." He hears some loud gasps from below. He placed up a hand to silence them. "This Virus stems from Magic Poison Water. It is water that is tainted with the Toxic Wastes from the Wand Factories."

"Now, because of those Factories, it will rain Magic Poison Water that contains the Virus. Overexposure to the rain will drain the magic out of you quicker. You all know what happens… if you run out of magic…" There was dreadful silence after he said that. Everybody must be very scared now. Can't blame them. This has never happened before.

"This was all found out by a talented scientist named Shelby DreamCatcher. Come on out, Shelby." Ambrose called her out. The purple haired scientist slowly walked onto the balcony. With a nervous laugh and inhaling and exhaling a couple of times, she looked at the camera.

"Greetings. I am Shelby. I found out about this Virus a couple days ago. Of course, back then, I didn't exactly know what it was." Shelby got out her graph she carried with her and her wand. She whispered a few magical words under her breath and then tapped the graph with her wand. The Graph turned into a big hologram, large enough for everyone to see.

"Now, according to my findings, the Spiral's magic is decreasing by 1.6 percent. This has been going on for 6 years now… That means nearly a tenth of our magic has disappeared." Loud gasps and murmuring were heard. She sighed and placed up a hand to stop it. "I know you're all worried, but please try to calm yourselves down."

"Thanks to a fellow person that I will not mention, I was able to figure out the Virus, known now as Anti-Magic Virus. How did I figure it out?" Shelby placed away the holographic graph and got out a picture she had taken of the Vampire. She muttered the same spell to make it holographic and large enough for everyone to see. There were some screams and some cries of shock at the picture.

"It is because of this Vampire. This is no ordinary Vampire. I call it a Magykpire." She scratched the back of her head, wondering why she added that in. "Anyways. This Magykpire is what happens to magical beings affected with the Virus. I do not know if it's because of how long you were infected or what kind of person you are. I have yet to test that out."

"This Magykpire will, like any Vampire, hunt down people. However, instead of blood… they drain your magic instead until you're pretty much ridden of it." Shelby hears lots of worried yells.

"YOU MEAN I MIGHT BECOME THAT?!"

"THAT THING IS SCARY!"

"KILL IT WITH FIRE!"

"Calm down people!" Shelby yelled to the audience. "Do not panic. We are currently finding a cure to help combat the Virus as soon as possible. In the meantime, I suggest everybody to stay away from Magic Poison Water. If at all possible, stay inside from the rain. Do not go outside unless you really need to and have properly good clothing on."

Ambrose decided to cut in at this point. "In addition, we are shutting down every single Wand Factory in existence. You must listen. If we don't get rid of them, the rain will continue to harm us. I know rain is now our enemy. Please, shut down all the factories." There were exchanged conversations between the audiences.

"If you encounter a Magykpire…" Ambrose sighed. He was thinking about this for a bit when Shelby was doing her part. "Don't be hesitant to kill it. We cannot risk them being around." The scientist looked at him incredulously. He is seriously telling people to commit murder..? Even though the Wizard has already turned into a magic thirsty monster?

"But Ambrose…" Shelby grabbed him by the collar and whispered in his ear. "Why don't we just wait for a cure?" Ambrose sighed, shaking his head. The Scientist paled and let go of his head. She just lost a little respect for her headmaster. Why would he let people kill Magykpires? They used to be human for heaven's sake.

"And that is all that we have to say. Be careful to all the new dangers that have appeared in the Spiral. We will try to get rid of them as soon as possible." The audience was dreadfully silent as both him and Shelby left the balcony. There wasn't even a single clap. They must be all scared out of their minds.

_I have a very bad feeling. I think what we did… did more harm than good. _Shelby bit her lip. She turned to Ambrose. "Well I got to go, Ambrose. I am really hungry and need some food… and some rest."

"I understand." Ambrose decided to say no more than that and headed out the door. He must be really tired today. Who can blame him? This was a lot to take in for any person. Shelby ran a hand through her hair and placed her back to the wall. Well, it could have been better… but it wasn't bad.

"Hmm, I should check the news section." Shelby turned on her cell phone and tapped the news app. She jerked back a bit at how fast things went in the Spiral. "Well that escalated quickly. Already there are 10 Factory shutdowns…. Nope make that 15… 19… Okay I get the point."

Her cellphone then vibrated. It seemed that her husband was calling. She placed him on speaker phone as she scrolled through the news app. "Hey, dear, I am about to head home soon, what up?"

"Honey! I just received a call from someone that something bad is happening to our house! Come on! Hurry! We must hurry!"

_Oh god… _Shelby quickly hung up and ran out of the tower.

~Line Break~

Shelby and James ran over to their House as fast as their legs can carry. They ran and ran. Run. Running. And then… when their House came into view. Both of their hearts broke immediately. Shelby placed her hands over her mouth, tears running down her face. James could only stare, disbelief in his eyes.

"NO! GODDAMMIT! YOU… YOU BASTARDS!" James screamed pulled at his hair, very angry. Shelby fell to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. The tears… they just kept coming. Why? Why would they do this? All she did was inform them the news… Why?!

There, in front of them, was their home… well not anymore. Their house has crumpled to the ground. Fire was still burning the poor remains of it. All of their furniture and personal items seemed to have gone missing. On their lawn was a burned message large enough for them to read.

"**THIS IS YOUR FAULT! YOU DESERVE THIS!"**

"… Why… Just why…" Shelby placed her hands over her head, trembling. "I… I… HATE YOU ALL!"

_After my house got destroyed…_

_I lost almost all of my faith in humanity…_

_I gave them the news that this was happening…_

_And they think I am the one to blame for the magic disappearing…_

_Back then… I didn't think it would get any worse for me…_

_Boy, was I wrong… _

_I was… on the verge of a mental breakdown…_

_2 days until the End of the Spiral…_


End file.
